Play Dough & Nature Stamps

Course Overview

FOCUS AGE : Toddler
SKILL CATEGORY : Sensory Development
Fine Motor : Exploring the Seasons
SET UP TIME : Under 5 minutes

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

This type of sensory play dough play is crucial for your child’s development as it offers a wide array of educational and developmental benefits. Through tactile exploration, children enhance their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and finger strength. Manipulating the dough encourages creativity and imagination, allowing your child to express themselves artistically and experiment with different shapes and forms. Moreover, the sensory experience of squeezing, moulding, and shaping dough supports sensory development, aiding your child in understanding different textures and sensations. Additionally, play dough play promotes cognitive growth by fostering problem-solving skills as your child figures out how to turn their ideas into tangible creations. 

WHAT YOU NEED

Play Dough (link recipe here) (link to ‘Let’s dough crazy: Where imagination takes shape!’)

Board, tray or play dough mat 
Rolling pin 
Natural stamps like leaves, acorns, pine cones, conkers, etc.

MAIN ACTIVITY

Set up all materials and invite your child to press the autumn-themed stamps into the play dough to create impressions. Stamps can be directly pressed onto the play dough. Alternatively you can encourage your child to roll out a flat piece of play dough with a rolling pin and then press the stamps onto it. This will leave the shapes and designs of leaves, pumpkins, acorns, and other autumn elements on the play dough. Experiment with different stamping technique and explore the difference. Press the stamps fully into the play dough for clear, defined shapes. Or, you can gently tap the stamp onto the play dough for a more textured appearance. Your child may also like to try stamping multiple shapes in a row to create patterns. Talk about the patterns they can see and how they compare. Ask gentle questions about the various stamps your child is exploring and reinforce the concept of autumn and the season. You can also have a chat about their favourite items and why they liked them. Remember, the main goal is to have fun and be creative. There’s no right or wrong way to play with play dough and stamps, so feel free to let your child’s imagination run wild!

DIFFERENT WAYS TO PLAY

Baby
Make simple autumn shakers for your baby using an empty plastic bottle or plastic container. Pop some of the natural stamps in and close the lids firmly. Be sure to supervise closely here as small parts form choking hazards. As some shakers may make a sound when moved, it is great for helping your baby develop their auditory and visual skills. As your baby learns to reach out for it they also promote their gross and fine motor skills, hand development, hand eye coordination and thinking skills. Focus on simple ways to incorporate new words as your baby handles the shakers.

Pre-schooler / Rising Five
If you have cookie cutters, plastic knives, or small rolling cutters, you can use these tools to further shape and mould the play dough. Create borders, frames, or additional elements to enhance your scenes. Encourage imaginative play! You can tell stories using the play dough scenes you’ve created and have fun exploring different ways to use the play dough and stamps together.

EXTENDED LEARNING
Use the stamped play dough to create autumn scenes. Build a landscape with play dough hills, trees, and other elements. Use the stamped shapes as leaves falling from the trees or as decorations for the landscape.