Messy Play Monday: Play Dough

Welcome to another Messy Play Monday! This week I wanted to share some photos of children having lots of fun with play dough.

Play dough is part of a group of resources we describe as "Malleable Materials." This means it can be worked with the hands or tools to shape it. One of the great benefits of allowing children lots of opportunities to explore a variety of malleable materials is that they build strength in the muscles of the hands and fingers.

Often our very youngest children are not yet ready to write but we want to help then build strong muscles in the hands and fingers so that when they are ready they will have the strength and control to control writing materials.

Just as some people train their bodies and muscles in the gym we want the hand and finger muscles to develop well and in fact during their time in the EYFS your child might work in a group at activities known as "Dough Gym" or "Dough Disco!" Both of these involve a workout (usually to music) which gets the hands and fingers working hard in different ways using the dough.

If you want to make play dough at home then here is a simple recipe.

• 1 Cup of Plain Flour
• 1/2 Cup of Salt
• 1 Cup of Water
• 1 tablespoon of Oil (Cooking Oil or Baby Oil)
• 2 teaspoons of Cream of Tarter (you can substitute this for 3 teaspoons of lemon juice)
• 2 or 3 drops of Food Colouring (optional)

1. Put all the ingredients into a microwaveable bowl.
2. Stir together thoroughly and microwave for 1 min 30 seconds
3. Take the bowl out and stir again.
4. Microwave for a further 1 minute.

When it is cooked turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it together - be careful it WILL be HOT!!

When it has cooled and been kneaded together it is ready for your child to play with. You can add dough cutters and rolling pins for extra fun but the most valuable part of this will be the good work out their hands get from squashing, rolling and shaping the dough.

Why not try...

• Adding glitter to the dough
• Making scented dough (add a couple of drops of peppermint essence for minty dough or some coffee granules for coffee dough, curry powder for curry dough etc...)

Have fun!