PLAYDOUGH FUN

For 2 days now, Ethan and I have been having lessons while playing with Playdough. Ethan is a sensory learner. Not only that, he likes fun, spontaneous learning and he usually thrives in a very creative environment. So I always have to think of ways to have lessons with him in the disguise of play. Ethan has always loved arts and crafts and never minded getting messy so I thought it would perfect to have lessons with him with the Playdough. Here were some of the things we did:

1. Rolled play dough into long sausages and made letters and numbers out of it.
2. Used cookie cutters to make different shapes and he had to match a particular shape with its partner.
3. Using his plastic knife, he would chop the ready-made sausages like a chef.
4. Using a smooth bottle as a rolling pin, he would flatten the Playdough and pretend it’s cookie batter.
5. We would cut out different shapes and things and make Playdough sandwiches.
6. Using the cut-out shapes, I would ask him to count the pieces we had already.
7. Mixing 2 colors of Playdough to make new colors.
8. Making Playdough insects and bugs. He loves bugs a lot. He loved the millipede I made although the tiny legs kept falling off.
9. Using a special toy, we would press Playdough in the mold and make noodles. He also loves this one and even pretends the noodles are hair!
10. We would roll the Playdough out and then press some prints onto it using his toys and other things.

So far, Ethan is having a lot of fun with the Playdough so I’m thinking of getting him more colors. Admittedly, it’s not cheap here in the Philippines, but I suppose for someone as creative as Ethan it will be something he will appreciate a lot.

Here are other Playdough ideas:

• Make a birthday cake. Use real candles or pretend ones made from straws orpopsicle sticks. Count out the right number of candles and sing “Happy Birthday toyou!"
• Roll the playdough out and then use spools to print flowers into it. Try other thingsthat make prints, such as Duplo.
• Make a nest and some bird eggs.
• Make a cup, a bowl, etc and pretend to use them.
• Make a road and drive cars around it. Put playdough in dump trucks and drive themaround.
• Make a pretend jungle or river, or whatever, and use your plastic animals to playwith it.
• Roll it into a very thin sausage and then make it into a spiral or a cobra.
• Roll it into balls and make it into snowmen, animals, etc.
• Make a self-hardening dough or one that you bake. Give your child some things tostick in the dough to make a sculpture. Use feathers, coloured pasta, pipe cleaners,popsicle sticks, coloured straws, etc.