Do you make your own play dough? I can remember as a child making play dough with my mum and having hours of fun. But it’s so easy to buy in a tub these days, so why bother? Time is often a major factor especially when both sets of parents work.
But if making play dough isn’t something you’ve done before and you do have half an hour to spare and looking to do an activity together, making play dough is great because…
- Your child learns such a lot and has great fun in the process
- You get to spend quality time chatting
- It gives you both a boost which can often be very welcomed
Here’s what’s brilliant about making play dough…
Children can get involved in weighing out and mixing up the ingredients. They will learn about difficult abstract mathematical ideas in an easy way because they are learning in context using
weights and numbers. They can learn about textures by mixing up the ingredients. They are developing language skills as you talk them through what to do. The feeling of achievement from being involved can help boost self confidence.
And that’s not all …
When getting stuck in and playing with play dough children are free to express themselves creatively and can easily start again if things aren’t quite going to plan. They are developing their fine manipulative skills through kneading and sculpting. They are developing their imaginations as they imagine the end result before they create it.
OK…Do you have a little time to make some? Here’s a recipe
Ingredients
———–
225g/4oz Flour
100g/4oz Salt
30ml/2tbsp cream of tartar
225ml/8 fl oz water
a few drops of food colouring for each dough
Tools:
——
Saucepan
Wooden Spoon
Rolling Pin
Cutters
Method
——
Child to do this bit with help from Grownup…
Weigh out and mix all the ingredients together in a saucepan to form a smooth paste. Leave out the food colouring to start with.
Grownup to do this bit…
Cook in a saucepan slowly over a low heat, stirring occassionally, until the dough comes away from the pan and makes a smooth white ball. Then leave to cool.
Child can do this bit (may need help)…
Split the dough into different mixing dishes and add a few drops of
colouring to each dough.
I really like to make the dough red, yellow and blue. When each dough is mixed, I then split each coloured dough and encourage colour mixing to form new colours. Red and Yellow to make Orange, Blue and Yellow to make Green and Blue and Red to make Purple.
Have you tried this activity? Do you have a different recipe to share? Post your comments below..
Have Fun!
