Playdough and clay are both safe and soothing materials and very satisfying for children to play with. They provide children with a great sense of security and many opportunities to be creative and expressive and learn about texture, shape and form.

Squeezing, pressing, poking and patting is great for developing coordination. Tactile play that uses fine motor skills also promotes healthy brain development.
Children learn to use a range of supporting tools and materials, further extending their skills. Dramatic play develops naturally as children pretend to prepare food and cook with a range of props. The sensory experience can also be extended with textures, colours and smells. Introduce animals, fences and rocks and see where it leads them! The possibilities are endless.

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Squeezing, pressing, poking and patting is great for developing coordination. Tactile play that uses fine motor skills also promotes healthy brain development.

Children learn to use a range of supporting tools and materials, further extending their skills. Dramatic play develops naturally as children pretend to prepare food and cook with a range of props. The sensory experience can also be extended with textures, colours and smells. Introduce animals, fences and rocks and see where it leads them! The possibilities are endless.

Teachers often make playdough with a group of children with different sensory experiences in mind – changing the colour, texture and smell by adding herbs or changing the recipe to give a different texture. These are all great talking points for children.

Children can get creative making things – clay is great for 3-D objects or sculptures. Children practice decision making and reasoning skills as they create with the dough or the clay.

Science and maths concepts are introduced as they consider weight and shape, the force used to move, press and change the shape of the dough or the clay.

This tactile play develops their fine motor skills as their hand and finger muscles get a good workout. Strong and controlled muscle movement helps when learning to write.

Children practice their coordination skills and gain a sense of pride as they work to make their creations.

Playdough is great for dramatic play as they roll and shape it into food items for dinner with their friends. This helps children to make sense of their everyday experiences through play. By working with other children they learn important social skills. 

Sensory experiences open children’s brain connection to the senses as they learn to actively use their senses to understand the world around them.

Clay and Playdough | Uku me te Poikere

Continuing the learning at home

Make the playdough from scratch with your child. Select the colours, textures and smells to add together. It’s a great opportunity to talk to children about things like measuring and for them to practice their decision making.

Get some child sized equipment such as rolling pins, tongs etc. Wooden patterned stamps, cookie cutters, a garlic press and straws, are also great tools to enhance play. A play kitchen a stove, bench, microwave and child size crockery and cutlery is a fun way for children to re-enact family play.

Set up a working table with lumps of clay that have been softened with water, so it is easily manipulated by the children. Having hessian over the table or on boards supports the clay staying fixed and not moving.

Keep a container of water close by so the clay can be wet regularly to ensure it remains easy to mould.

Tools to help children make patterns and fine marks help children add detail to their work. Wooden tools are great and are safe for children to cut the clay with.

Introduce collage materials so they can decorate their creations – natural items like seeds, sticks and leaves are good options.

Clay should be available regularly, so children develop their skills at working the clay.