We give you 3 simple set-up ideas for play dough for St. Patrick’s Day using loose parts! Materials Play dough (see below for our favourite recipe or buy commercial play doh) Loose parts (see below for some suggestions) Tray for organizing the parts (we used a veggie and dip one) Trays, placemats or clay boards to work on We always find these items useful too: Directions Play dough Make or purchase your play dough. Here is our favourite recipe: http://make-it-your-own.com/fall-fun-pumpkin-pie-playdough-gift-jar/. You could colour as well, but we went with a sparkly white so the pieces would stand out. If I was working in the classroom, I would make 4 batches of the recipe for one centre. We put our loose parts in the centre of the table where they were accessible. Arrange your trays around your loose parts. Depending on your classroom space and dynamics, decide on how many children could work on this activity at a time and put out that many trays, placemats etc. Explore with the loose parts to create images or something more abstract. As you can see, we have done this a few years, showing you a few options for organizing your space. Rotate you loose parts throughout the week. As you can see, we tried- GOLD like treasures found at the end of the rainbow, GREEN which is synonymous with the shamrocks of St. Patrick’s Day and RAINBOW for the rainbow itself! Loose Parts Ideas Use items that you might have that are washable. Here are a few ideas: buttons beads marbles bingo chips wood slices glass gems game pieces lids marbles blocks shells nature finds wooden pieces (popsicle sticks, small dowels etc.) wooden curtain hooks spools stones tiles You could document your creations with your camera and then return the parts for the next person to create with. (This is a great way to practise sorting!) Pin this idea in this idea Purpose Manipulating loose parts allows for developing one’s fine motor skills, experimenting with design, exploring in an open-ended fashion as loose parts lend to unique combinations for each learner. Safety Notes We suggest that you wear a smock and use a craft tray to protect your clothing and surfaces. Small items can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths. The play dough should be made by an adult and directly supervised during use due to the salt content of homemade play dough. Please like & share: 2 Responses Leave a Reply Cancel Reply Your email address will not be published. Name* Email* Website Comment Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email.
