The wonders of play dough

BABY AND TODDLER GROUPS

Alliance early years development manager Alison Heseltine shares the benefits of play dough play

Alison works as an early years development manager at the Alliance, supporting families and educators.

Enjoyed by young and old alike, play dough is a fabulous resource that many baby and toddler groups use for tactile play. They may not, however, be fully aware of all the developmental opportunities it presents, both there and at home.

In the Alliance’s role supporting baby and toddler groups, we often hear about the anxiety associated with potential mess, cost, safety, and what they are expected to ‘do’ with it – all legitimate fears that can be overcome.

While baby and toddler groups aren’t required to follow the EYFS Framework, it’s nevertheless a handy tool for understanding the seven core areas of children’s learning and how, as adults, we can help with this.

Play dough supports personal, social and emotional development by helping children:

Engage in quieter, calmer and more reflective play in a busy world where they can explore their own emotions and feelings

Learn to share resources, starting to become aware of the needs of others and to negotiate

Build resilience and perseverance – overcoming challenges and adjusting ideas when things don’t quite go to plan

Play dough supports communication and language by helping children:

Learn and practise new vocabulary, especially action and description words

Develop the language of thinking - what, why and where, bringing the ideas in their mind to life

Build narratives – sharing their stories and explanations

Develop social skills – learning how to communicate with others in play

Play dough supports physical development by helping children:

Develop fine motor skills through rolling and squeezing dough, which can support later writing skills

Develop gross motor skills and muscle strength, boosting their confidence to join in with play

Build core strength and maintain their sense of balance

Coordinate movement in different parts of their bodies

Play dough supports literacy by helping children:

Support fine motor skills for later writing skills, including through mark-making in playdough using tools, other toys or hand

Make up stories with playdough and sharing these together

Learn to follow instructions

Play dough supports mathematics by helping children:

Measure quantities and learn/practise mathematical language: big, small, heavy and light

Create and name both 2D and 3D shapes together

Build on and practise their counting skills: balls of dough or cups of flour

Play dough supports expressive arts and design by helping children:

Express themselves: playdough can be anything or nothing at all, as the process is more important than the product

Share their ideas and learn about symbolic thinking through playing pretend

Play dough supports understanding the world by helping children:

Develop their thinking about how the dough changes and reacts when they play with it

Experience different textures, colours and scents that stimulate their senses

Playdough doesn’t have to be an expensive resource - you can make it yourself! Here, we’ve included a few of our favourite recipes to share with you. These can be enhanced by adding scents and colouring that are safe to use if you wish. You can also offer tools or other resources, such as shells or pinecones, to enhance the activity.

NB: Please be careful with aromatherapy oils as some can be skin irritants

Cleaning tips for homemade playdough: soak tools/equipment in hot water for a few minutes to dissolve; if it gets onto the floor, it can be swept up or, once dried, vacuumed.

Play dough

This recipe needs to be made by an adult and given time to cool before it can be played with.

Ingredients

2 cups of flour
1 cup of table salt
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
2 cups of boiling water (adult)
Safe to use scent or food colouring of your choice if you wish

Instructions

In a bowl, combine the flour, salt and cream of tartar, and mix well
Add in the oil
If you’re using them, mix a few drops of food colouring and scent into the bowl
Carefully add the boiling water
Mix everything together well and, once cooled, knead with your hands until no longer sticky (add more flour as needed)
Once it’s fully cooled, put in an airtight container and store in the fridge

Gluten-free play dough

Sometimes we need a gluten-free play dough for our children. With this recipe, you may find you need to add more flour/conditioner until you get the dough consistency right.

Ingredients

1 cup hair conditioner
2 cups cornflour
Food colouring, if you want to make your dough a different colour

Instructions

Mix together the conditioner and cornflour in a bowl
If you want to add food colouring, do this while mixing
Keep stirring until it comes together as a lump
Knead until smooth
Keep in an airtight container as it doesn’t keep as well.

Cold water and salt-free play dough

This recipe is a fun way to get children involved in making their own play dough. It doesn’t last as long, but it’s safer for children to make themselves and is great for extending children’s learning and development via the process.

Ingredients

2 cups of plain flour
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup cold water
Food colouring if desired

Instructions

In a large bowl, add oil to the flour and mix
If you are using food colouring add this to the water first and then pour the water into the bowl with the flour and oil
Stir well and then tip out and knead bringing the dough together into a ball
The great thing about this recipe is that if it’s a bit too wet, add a bit more flour; if it’s too dry, add a bit more water
Have fun and when you’ve finished playing keep it in an airtight container – but be aware it won’t keep as long

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