Play-Doh Exploration In a Toddler Class

What is play-doh?

Play-Doh is a soft, colorful modeling tool that allows open-ended exploration. Let us take you through what play-doh exploration looks like in a toddler class!

Setting Up Invites

An 'invitation to play' is a concept that encourages children to learn through exploration, by providing materials that 'invite them to play' in a creative and non-directive way.

How do we explore play-doh?

We explore play-doh by pressing, poking, rolling it out, cutting, pinching, making impressions on it, or rolling it into a ball.

What are the benefits of play-doh exploration?

Developmental Growth:
Play-doh exploration promotes fine motor development or the development of small muscles in the body. It also facilitates hand-eye coordination, and builds focus and attention span.

Mathematical Development:
Experimentation with weight, size, and pattern making are often a most shared experience of play-doh exploration

Literacy Growth:
Play-doh opens up the opportunity for storytelling, pretend play, and sharing stories. Thus, promoting language development and vocabulary building - squish, stretch, pinch, and press

Creativity and Imagination:
The most special thing about play-doh is that it is open-ended and gives a lot of space for creativity and imagination in young children. It also allows for emotional expression through play.

Therapeutic:
Play-doh can be a very calming tool for children as they explore its soft and cool texture and manipulate it channelising their thoughts and feelings into it.