PLAY DOUGH DAY

Play dough is multi-sensory, engaging, creative, and open-ended. Talk about PURPOSEFUL PLAY! National Play Dough Day is September 16th, but you can use it every day as a tool just like a worksheet or video game. Play dough also develops small motor skills which help children write. Here are just a few ways to integrate it into centers and independent learning in your classroom.

Comprehension
Let children make their favorite character and use it to retell a story. 

                                           

Make something that you learned from the book.

Phonics
Rhymes – Make two objects that rhyme.

Sounds – Make objects that start with a consonant, blend, or diagraph you are working on.
Vowels- Make an object for a long vowel sound and short vowel sound.

Writing
Make something you like (or don’t like) and write about it.

Make something from a book you have read and write about it.

Make letter plates by writing letters with a permanent marker on plastic plates. Children roll play dough and make the letters on top. 

                                                  

Make letters (or words) using a bubble font. Children roll dough and fill in.

Make something that is a noun. How can you make it plural?

Math
Make objects that match numbers.

Make a set and then decompose it.

Science and Social Studies
Reinforce information from a science or social studies unit with play dough. Children could make animals from a habitat, parts of a flower, tools of community helpers, healthy foods…endless possibilities!


Here's the link to a free book with more learning activities and fun with play dough.

Click to download Play Dough Power