Here's some ideas to make play dough time more interesting for children:
- Make impressions in the dough with things from around your home.garden, or things you have collected on walks (shells,leaves, sticks, plastic animals,cars, barbie shoes).
-Push small items into the play dough to create faces ( buttons,paper clips, popsicle sticks, googly eyes).
- Use Mr. Potato Head pieces to make play dough people.
-Add children's safety scissors so the children cut the play dough.
-Create a bakery by making cupcakes, birthday cakes, cinnamon buns, cookies, bread. Add cake decorations, muffin cups, rolling pins, bowls, spoons, plastic knives, small cookie sheets, spatulas, cookie cutters,potato masher, etc....
-Create a restaurant by making pizza, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, fries.
-Flatten dough and roll cars and trucks in it to make tire tracks.
-Roll snakes and balls and use them to shape letters.
-Sculpt animals-add feathers,eyes, fur, etc...
-Put fresh play dough in a syringe or icing bag and let children squeeze it out.
-Mix different combinations of colored play dough to make new colors.
Red + Blue = Purple, Yellow + Blue = Green, Red + Yellow = Orange
Then mix all the colors together!
-Use small plastic animal toys (available at the dollar store) and let the child make different kinds of caves and homes for the animals to live in.
-Make ornaments. Bake at 200 degrees for 5 minutes so they will harden and preserve.
Source: Play Dough, Painting, and Prop Boxes Workshop by Krista Anderson
