Exploring Play Dough

[20 Minutes]

A favorite with children, play dough is a great way for your child to have fun and learn.

You'll need:

• play dough • rolling pin or wooden mallet (optional) • plastic knife

What to do:

1. Walk around your house and help your child find the largest or smallest items in each room.
2. Challenge your child to use play dough to shape several balls of different sizes.
3. Encourage her to line the balls up in order of size, either smallest to largest or largest to smallest.
4. Invite your child to another play option: rolling the play dough flat with a rolling pin or pounding it with a mallet. Together, cut out shapes in different sizes with the plastic knife.
5. Again, help her arrange the shapes according to size.
6. After arranging the play dough, encourage your child to use it to model anything she wishes.

Let's Talk: Ideas to Explore Together.

• How does the play dough feel in your hands?
• Can you make a square with the play dough? A triangle?
• Which was the hardest for you to make? The ball? The square? The triangle?

Useful information:

While you are having fun together, your child is developing small muscle skills, eye/hand coordination, and math skills.