Play dough garden play By : Ashlee
Play dough garden play By : Ashlee
If you don ' t have enough space in your setting to create your own garden area , why not bring some of nature indoors in a fun , creative way ?
You can do this by making you own no cook play dough to represent mud :
Recipe for the play dough :
• 2 cups plain flour ( all purpose )
• 1 cup salt
• 2 tbsps vegetable oil
• 2 tbsps cream of tartar
• 2 cups of boiling water
• 1 / 2 cup cocoa powder ( if you would like to add a different sensory layer for smell . You can always add vanilla , or other smells )
Resources needed :
• small pots ( can always have different sizes , to encourage mathematical development )
• dried flowers
• dried leaves
• plastic flowers
• plastic leaves
• seeds if you want ( for planting )
You can amend this activity , adding different textures for sensory development and make it age appropriate by swapping resources to work on different skills . The mud play dough will be a lovely sensory addition to the flower planting ; its soft texture will give your children the opportunity to push the seeds and flowers ( dried , fresh or plastic ) into the ‘ mud ’ easily and pull them out again . Giving your children the time to arrange their pots will give them opportunities to be creative with their arrangements . If you have a garden at your home / setting you can also let them pick some grass or flowers from there to add a different sensory dimension .
Depending upon each child , this activity could lead to role play such as a shop keeper / florist . You can add a table , chair and some money for them to sell the pots / flowers ( linking to their creativity and mathematical development ).
This activity can help with :
• Literacy development : role-play reading and writing , language development
• Mathematical development : counting the seeds , flowers whilst exploring patterns and capacity ( how much ‘ mud ’ can fit into the pots )
• Physical development : fine motor development through rolling / squashing / pinching / squeezing play dough
• Knowledge and understanding of the world : talking about gardens , flowers , seeds , growing , life cycles , plants , selling , money etc
• Creativity : imaginative play , taking on a role / character and remaining in it during play