With just Noah and I at home most days we are having fun getting out some of the tried and true activities. Playdough has always been a favourite at our house, but now it is Noah’s chance to explore all the simple fun you can have with play dough without the big kids around, getting in his way.
Over the last few days we’ve added lots of really simple accessories to the playdough. The accessories are all things that we either had already, or were cheap and easy to buy at the supermarket. Nothing fancy, but these six simple playdough activities were so much fun for Noah and I to explore.
Playdough with Cup Cake Wrappers
I always have a few cup cake wrappers or ‘patty pans’ as I’ve always called them, stashed away in the cupboard. It only takes a handful of these cheap items to add hours of fun to your play dough stash.
We made birthday cakes and sang the birthday candle song over and over and over again! Then Noah was busy piling the dough filled patty pans on one top of the other to make a tower… loads of fun!
Playdough with Natural Materials
A handful of stones from the driveway, some pine cones and banksia nuts, and a few gum leaves from the tree out the back. Free, easy to collect, fun accessories for playdough play.
The leaves were stuck into the dough to make trees and we discovered the rocks left interesting imprints in the dough too. Sticking little bits of dough into the pine cones was lots of fun too!
Playdough with Plastic Knives and Plates
I scrabbled through the picnic items to find a couple of plastic knives, then dug through the tea set for a few small plates.
The knives are safe for small fingers and easily cut play dough into a variety of shapes, fun and great fine motor skill development too. Of course after the plates were loaded with ‘food’ someone had to sit and eat it!
Playdough with Animals
We all have a selection of plastic animals lying around the house? Don’t we? If not get yourself to the local dollar store and buy some!
The animals made footprints into flattened dough, they were fed lots of different dough food, and of course the gazelle wanted to wear some play dough on his antlers!
Playdough with Icy-pole Sticks
If you don’t have any icy-pole sticks handy you can also use tooth picks, cut up drinking straws or even sticks from the garden.
Just poking the sticks into the dough is very satisfying. We made lots of spiky creatures and even stuck sticks together with balls of dough to make walls and houses, as well as some kind of crazy coloured food on a stick!
Playdough with Scissors
Cutting playdough sausages with small plastic scissors is a great way for beginners to practice cutting. The play dough is much easier to hand than paper and doesn’t tear and frustrate very small hands.
Noah is obsessed with scissors right now, but still doesn’t have the control to manage them with paper or cardboard. He’s still getting the hang of how to hold scissors, and how to hold the thing he wants to cut, but cutting the playdough sausages allowed him to be mostly successful, and have a really good long go at figuring it out. Plus it is totally adorable to watch him open and close his mouth as he tries to open and close the scissors!
These are only a few of the endless ways you can play with playdough. Even just offering some play dough all on it’s own will result in lots of creative play for all ages. You can buy playdough or make your own really easily. You can find our favourite microwave playdough recipe here.
What is your favourite way to play with playdough?
All our favourites here Kate!…love your little model!! Where would we be without playdough??
We are in playdough overdrive at our place. favourites accessories are the cookie cutters and a baking tray to “cook” “biscuits” for the toys which then get doled out onto plastic plates and fed to them in a tea-party under the kitchen table, and the garlic press which makes great “worms” or “spaghetti” or “hair” for faces.
We have a bowl full of eyes and ears, noses, feet, hats and mouths etc so they can make creatures, sort of like Mr Potato Head. I don’t remember where we got them, left over from a modelling clay set I think but they are very popular. Kids love the making of the play dough as much as playing with it.
the favorites here are the plastic knives and paddle pop sticks! my kids love play dough!!
Playdough is also on high rotation at our place. Current favourite accessories are the cookie cutters and the garlic press (makes great “hair”, “spaghetti” and “worms.”)
seriously love this kate! Genius! and with everything that is just lying around the house too! xox