Have fun this half term while getting hands and fingers nimble and ready for writing!
Playdough is a great thing for getting hands and fingers working…
Best Easy Playdough Recipe:
1 cup plain flour
½ cup salt
1 tablespoon cream of tartar or bicarbonate of soda
1 tablespoon vegetable oil or baby oil
1 cup boiling water *
(Optional) glitter/food colouring/scents e.g. peppermint, anything you like!
– Stir all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix until a ball of dough is formed, then knead for about 5 minutes – the longer you knead, the better it gets!
* You can also use cold or warm water so the children can help with the mixing and kneading (though boiling water makes better, longer-lasting dough).
Playdough activities:
Make some ‘dinner’ – Roll peas with thumb and fingers, and ‘sausages’ between the palms
Use all kinds of tools for mark-making – cutters, rolling pins, plastic cutlery, old pens/pencils, toy cars
Make some monsters using craft sticks and goggly eyes
Cover the base of a shallow tray with
Shaving foam
Dry oats/rice/couscous
Sand or salt
Cornflour and water ‘gloop’
Draw, make patterns, write letters or numbers while exploring the different textures.
Other activities to keep hands busy:
Treasure hunt with large tweezers, pasta tongs or clothes pegs. Bury small objects, beads, minibeasts etc. in a sand tray and sort into dishes
Try picking up small foods e.g. cheerios, mini marshmallows, raisins with tweezers (then eating them!)
Construction toys with nuts and bolts, toy screwdrivers
Lacing and threading – beads, cheerios, macaroni etc.
Make pictures or spider webs by threading hole-punched card or paper plates
Pipette paintings – watery paint/food colouring in pots, drop onto paper or coffee filters
Wind up toys and spinning tops
Big chalk on paved area/big paper taped to floor
Paint, pen or chalk on an easel, blackboard or other vertical surface
Give children clothes pegs to display their own work on a washing line
Scissor skills
Making fringe along edge of paper
Cutting along pre-drawn lines (straight, wavy, zigzag, shapes and pictures) – use to make collages
Make paper lanterns to decorate the house by cutting parallel lines on folded paper
Try cutting through playdough…
