Themed play dough kits to let children escape into their own little worlds and create endless stories.
Themed play dough kits to let children escape into their own little worlds and create endless stories.
It gives children time to escape from increasingly fast-paced and technologically driven lives. It also gives them a chance to enter a world of imagination with endless possibilities.
Through my experience as a teacher and now the mother of young children I am even more convinced of the value and importance of play as an aid to learning. Whilst teaching creative writing lessons at school I would often get my class to create mini worlds, draw maps and make characters to help plan their stories, which allowed them organise the structure of their stories and also aided their imaginations. But most importantly, it was fun!
Play dough can be used by all age groups in many different ways. All of them enhance and benefit individual development and are a relaxing way for children to learn about themselves, other people and the world around them. Key areas covered through this type of play are:
Fine motor skills - squeezing, squashing, pinching, rolling, parking, ripping, chopping, pressing etc., are all actions which aid strengthening little hand muscles preparing them for other skills such as writing.
Hand/Eye co-ordination - incorporating all of the above but accompanied by the skills of placing and positioning decorations and small objects.
Imagination – this has no limits and is one of the beauties of Play dough as children can make endless creations through open ended play which will have no right or wrong outcome.
Concentration – this is something children can struggle with but the more interested and involved they become in their creations the longer they will sit and focus.
Learning shapes, patterns and counting.
Collaborative play can be encouraged where children will learn to share, take turns and join in creating their new worlds.
Relaxation – At the same time it is also a good way for children to have some quiet time where they can relax and unwind
Sensory - exploring textures and different scents.
This idea came into being through my own learning and teaching experiences and became refined as my eldest son grew and his play requirements shifted. Cooking, characters in books and on TV, early schooling and just a need for engrossing rainy day activities gradually created ‘Knead a Story’.
As with everything, you are only limited by your imagination. I hope to give your child a chance to explore their own imaginations through play!
