Play-dough is a wonderful play option to provide to a child for open ended free play. The creativity that can come off such a play is endless and just the process of kneading and playing with the dough can be very therapeutic for little hands and minds. If you are yet to introduce it to your child, I would recommend you give homemade play-dough a try as the contents are completely non-toxic and baby safe.
The first time I made play-dough at home, my little one was hardly 15 months old. He did not really take to it instantly. He was hesitant to touch it too much. I guess the feel of the play-dough was very new to him and he did not quite enjoy touching it or playing with it too much. I had given him the play dough along with a few cutters. I let him explore it his way and did not push him into it.
Since the play-dough stays good for about 6 months, if stored well, I gave it a break and reintroduced it after about 2-3 months. This time around, my little boy seemed to enjoy it better. I did away with the cutters and added a few more props to the play dough such as tiny little baskets for him to put them into, a little ladle to pretend play and bowl to mix it all up in. Since there was not much of touching the dough this time, I guess he enjoyed this play better than the earlier attempt.
He just turned two a couple of months back and so I decided to make a fresh batch of play dough and see how he took to it this time. I planned a lot more activities around it and to my happiness he loved it. He shows a lot more concentration these days and loves quite time activities. In this post, I am listing down a few little props that pair well with play dough and also help in motor skills development.
Googly Eyes
These are little craft items that you can get off most stationary shop or craft supply shop. They are perfect for little hands to squish right into the play dough to make a variety of play dough monsters! The process of pressing these down into the dough acts as a good exercise for those tiny thumbs.
Tooth Pick
A few toothpicks to poke and dig into the play dough also serve as good exercise for little fingers. Just be careful they do not hurt themselves. Monitor carefully while toothpicks are handed out for play.
Pasta (Penne)
Baby Penne pasta can be used to slide right onto the toothpicks that have been poked into the play dough balls. This activity of trying to fit int the tiny opening of the pasta onto the tiny toothpick improves hand eye coordination and concentration level. This can keep little ones busy for a good amount of time. Again, close monitoring is advised.
Rolling Pin
A baby size rolling pin or even a regular rolling pin is a wonderful tool to be paired with play dough. Those little wrists get a good workout while the little ones enjoy rolling out play dough balls.
Oh those tiny little fingers at work! :)
I got this little roller as part of a cookie cutter set.
Butter Knife or Play Knife
If you have a tiny play knife as part of a kitchen set or vegetable/fruit cutting set, it pairs very well with play dough. If not, a blunt butter knife should also work. Roll out the play dough into a log and let them little ones spend some time cutting tiny bits off it. Again, helps in hand eye coordination and improves concentration.
Hands :)
The best tool of all is of course those little pudgy hands! Get them to knead the play dough, make little balls, slap them down, roll them.... just explore the way they want to! Just working their fingers through the play dough helps those little fingers get a mini workout.
Hope these little ideas help you get started on your play-dough play journey with your little one. Once you begin, the options. Keep the play interesting and limit it to just a about 30-60 minutes at one go, every few days. Over exposure to any activity gets boring and so I always practice activity rotation just like toy rotation to keep the interest alive.
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