Sister UmmUthman (May Allah reward her. Ameen) ran a Pay Dough course for 6 weeks with home schooled children ages 5 and up.
The Children had lots of funs making everything from houses, cars and food - and Allhumdulilah not much was eaten by the children.
As you will see from the pictures below the quality achieved by the children is amazing - they did a wonderful job. Masha'Allah
Look at the details on these vehicles - good work kids - Masha'Allah
WOW - this doesn't look like play dough at all - looks good enough to eat!!!
Play-Dough as a Teaching Tool
We all know that kids love to get their hands messy in cookie dough, bread dough, play-dough But how do you take the art of playing in dough to a higher level of teaching for a preschooler. Here are some ideas.
1. Teaching emotions - create faces out of play-dough and change the mouth or eye expression to depict particular emotions like happy, sad, mad, scared or shy. Ask your child to their own faces reflect what the play-dough face is doing.
2. Basic Fractions - create a pizza pie out of play-dough Cut it into slices, first in half, then in quarters. That's about all you can expect a preschooler to grasp, but when you say "would you like me to cut your sandwich in half?", they will have a better understanding of what that means.
3. Counting - Roll the play-dough into balls and count with your child. Basic addition and subtraction can also be taught with older preschoolers
4. Colors - very obvious but sometimes overlooked; consider mixing colored dough with some white play-dough to teach light and dark
5. Gravity/Up & Down - create a bowling game out of play-dough. Angle a piece of cardboard or a plate in a slide fashion. Have our child roll the play-dough ball down the slide to knock over the pins.
Recipes:
Uncooked Play dough
1 cup plain flour
1/4 cup salt
1 tbspn cooking oil
A few drops of food colouring
1/2 cup water
Directions
• Mix the flour and salt together. Add the oil.
• Add the food colouring to the water, then add the coloured liquid, a little at a time to the flour mixture.
• Knead until the mixture is smooth and has the consistency of scone dough.
• Multiply the quantity by the number of children using the dough. Children can mix this themselves.
Cooked Play dough (flour and salt)
3 cups flour
1.5 cups salt
6 tsp cream of tarter
3 tbsp oil
3 cups water
Dissolve salt in the water.
Pour all ingredients into a large pot.
Stir constantly over medium heat until a ball forms by pulling away from the sides.
Knead the dough mixture until the texture matches play dough (1-2 minutes).
Store in plastic container. Should last for at least 3 months.
NOTE: This recipe is made from edible ingredients and not toxic in small amounts for children. However, a cat got sick after eating a batch of play dough It is not intended as a food item. Please be sure to put it away after your children have finished playing.
Notes from Mums:
After my cousins and I made play dough, we played with it and didn't put away. In the morning it was dried. I added a little bit of water to it and it turned soft again.
I decided to just let my play dough creation dry naturally in a window in the sunshine. It is almost dry now. A few cracks developed, but I just filled them in with play dough and smoothed them over. I kept turning the creation to let the sun hit it from all sides.
Cooked Play dough (baking soda and corn starch)
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup corn starch
3/4 cup water
Have your child mix the baking soda and corn starch in a pot. Use hands to make sure all the lumps are broken up. Add water. The adult should put the pan on the stove over medium heat and stir constantly. As soon as the mixture gathers together, remove from the heat. When it cools, have your child knead it into a smooth play dough
Note: Don't over cook this play dough or it will crumble when the children use it.
Alternative Recipe for children's play dough
2 cup cornstarch
2 cup baking soda
1 1/4 cup cold water
Gradually add water till smooth. Heat, stirring constantly until mashed potato consistency. Turn onto plate, cover with damp cloth, let cool. Knead dough.
Uncooked Play dough (salt and flour)
1/4 cup salt
1 cup flour
1/4 cup water
Have your child mix the flour and salt in a bowl then add water. Knead and squeeze the dough to make a clay consistency. You may need to add more water.
Note: Your child will find that this play dough doesn't last as long as the cooked recipes.
Oatmeal Clay
1 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup water
Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Add more flour if necessary for the dough to form a lump. Have the children knead the dough on a floured surface until it is smooth. You can add food coloring to the water before mixing the dough, or divide it into balls and add the coloring after the children mix and knead it.
Your children's finished crafts can air dry overnight.
Note: Children can store the clay in the refrigerator in a zip lock bag for up to 3 days.
Cornstarch Clay 1 (Porcelain type)
Ideal for items under 3/4" thick
2 cups (500 ml or .5 liter) cornstarch
2 cups (500 ml or .5 liter) baking soda
11/4 cups (310 ml) cold water
In a saucepan, combine cornstarch and baking soda. Gradually add water until the mixture is smooth. Heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches a moist mashed-potato consistency.
Turn onto a plate, cover with a damp towel. Knead clay when cool enough to handle. Clay is now ready to shape into craft projects.
children can add food coloring to make different colors. roll out the dough into 1cm thick (under 1/2 inch) and have children make hand prints.
takes a long time to air dry or dry in a warm oven (200F) but it may brown a bit. clay may crack if items too thick or bulky
Cornstarch Clay 2
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup white glue
Mix completely. Add extra corn starch or glue to get a workable consistency.
Store in plastic baggie. Should last for months with no mold.
Projects can be air dried.
Try rolling out very thinly, then leave over night. In the morning use punchies to create designs before it is completely dry.
Dries like china.
Craft Ideas
Divide into sections, then knead in food coloring (liquid or paste).Kids love making the white play dough change colors.
Liquid food coloring will work to color play dough, but it's hard to get really good colors. I use paste food coloring (available in cake decorating stores, or section of craft store). They look more expensive than liquid, but you use tiny amounts to get great colors. They last for years.
Use unsweetened Kola for color and scent. Kola is a powdered drink mix sold in North America. Parents just add sugar and water to make the drink. The powder has both flavoring and color which makes it great for this craft.
Add glitter for sparkly play dough
Here's an idea from one of our Home School Mums:.
“If you add vanilla extract to homemade play dough, it helps preserve the dough, prevent mold, and makes it smell nice. Peppermint extract works too.”
UmmMohammad
Play dough Ideas for Groups
Make up a large batch of play dough, and divide it into balls (about 1/3 of a cup). Each ball should be enough for one child to easily handle and work with. Put the ball in one hand, and use the fingers of the other hand to make a small impression in the center of the ball. Add a bit of food coloring, and then carefully cover it over with white play dough
When you've finished with the balls, put them in baggies, or put in them all in a large plastic container with a lid. Let them sit overnight.
The next day, give each child one ball and have them start kneading it. The children will watch in amazement as they turn their white play dough into a colorful ball.
Note for Parents:
Every parent must use their own judgment in choosing which activities are safe for their own children. While Creative Kids at Home makes every effort to provide activity ideas that are safe and fun for children it is your responsibility to choose the activities that are safe in your own home.
