Activity title: Playdough 

Category: Sensory play

Targeted Age Group: preschoolers (3-5 years)

Intent: Playdough is a sensory play that has to do with hands-on experience that sparks exploration, creativity, sensory development and fine motor skills. children roll, squeeze and flatten, and shape them into different kinds. Making playdough strengthens the hand muscles, and it engages in imaginative play.

One essential skill is making connections. (Galinsky, 2010). Children use playdough to bring their imagination to life by shaping it into objects or forming things out of it. They also express their thought and experiment with the different textures and forms of the playdough.

Domain and skills indicator: 

Cognitive: Representation (4.3) - using a variety of materials to build with and express their ideas. (Ontario ministry of education, 2014).

Materials:

Homemade pr store-bought playdough in various colours, cookie cutters, stamps, rolling pins, small trays, shells, pine cones, leaves, storage containers, wet wipes or cloths for clean up.

Invitation to play:

Firstly, set up a table, then place a tray and a container filled with various colours of playdough along with tools such as rollers and cutters. Then put up a sign that says "let's create" and set some examples of playdough that have been created before to spark up their ideas and provide options for them to freely explore. then invite the children to engage their imagination as they explore the various colours of playdough provided for them.

Website link example of sensory play:

90 Easy Sensory Activities for Kids - Taming Little Monsters

 

references

Galinsky, E. (2010). mind in the making: the seven essential life skills every child needs. Harper studio. Life Skills

Ontario ministry of education. (2014). ELECT: Early learning for every child today. Retrieved from. https//preschoolcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ELECT_compressed.pdf