Looking for something fun to do as a family activity?  Try making and playing with playdough.  Kids love to play with playdough, and it is a great way to support your child’s learning.  Find a fun and yummy smelling playdough recipe at the end of this article.   

When you make a batch of playdough together, your child learns about print and why people write.  Following the recipe helps them to connect written and spoken words and learn that writing can be used for different purposes.  In this case, the writing explains how to make playdough.   

Other literacy activities you can do with playdough include:  

• Roll snakes and use them to form letters. 

• Form letters and arrange them to spell simple words or to form their name.  

• Roll a ball of playdough to represent each sound in a word.  

• Allow kids to manipulate playdough quietly while listening to a story.  It keeps busy hands occupied and if they create objects to represent what is being read, it can help them to visualize the text.   

Literacy ideas from www.naeyc.org and www.homeliteracy.com  

Talking through “cooking”/play activities in the following ways allows children to grow in their understanding and use of words/sentences, helping them to effectively communicate their thoughts across contexts and communication partners.  

• Name ingredients/tools/objects used (flour, water, bowl, spoon, beads, googly eyes, etc.)  

• Describe actions (take off, pour in, mix, mix, mix, roll, smash, cut, etc.)  

• These two ways of modeling language should be used while making the playdough and while playing with it (“pour water,” “mix dough,” “smash dough,” “roll dough,” etc.)  

• Model complete sentences that incorporate verbs, descriptors, and spatial concept words (“Pour the flour in the bowl,” “Let’s put the googly eyes on top,” “The playdough is sticky,” etc.)  

The following activities and exercises will help your child to develop his/her hand and finger skills.  

• Roll balls of dough between the thumb and pointer/middle fingers.  

• Hide beads and race to find them.  

• Create an obstacle course for the fingers with hurdles and jumps.  

• Make a playdough pie. Pinch the crust and create playdough berries.  

• Build structures using popsicle sticks and playdough.  

• Cut with cookie cutters.  

• Press googly eyes, buttons, pegs, feathers, or straws into the playdough.  

No Cook Kool Aid Playdough 

Recipe from TwoPinkPeonies.com  

Not only does this no cook Kool Aid play dough smell amazing, but it’s also easy enough for kids to help make! Total prep time 5 minutes. Servings: 1 batch  

Equipment – Mixing bowl  

Ingredients  

• ¾ cup water  

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil  

• 1 packet unsweetened drink mix such as Kool Aid, 0.13 oz  

• 2 cups all-purpose flour  

• 1 cup salt  

• 2 tablespoon cream of tartar  

Instructions  

In a large mixing bowl combine all the dry ingredients and stir well. Next, add in your wet ingredients. Stir well. The play dough may be sticky at first. I found that after letting it sit out for about 5 to 10 minutes it helped the playdough air out and it was much more like commercial Playdough.  

Notes  

If your playdough seems too dry, add a few more tablespoons of water at a time until it is the right consistency. If your play dough seems too wet, try adding more flour. Let your play dough set out for a few minutes before playing with it. It may seem sticky at first. We let it “air dry” for about ten minutes before playing.  

Article authors: Debbie Lamoreaux and Lori Smith, Reading Interventionists, Mallory Pilcher Gillan, Occupational Therapist, and Cherayah Sutton, Speech Therapist 

Upcoming Events   

Early Release Days are every Friday at 2 p.m.   

• Feb 27 – Shining Mountain staff member comes to cook with students.  

• Feb 28 – Education Department staff and students tour Fort Lewis College. 

• March 12-14 – SUIMA closed – staff attending National Montessori Conference in Denver. 

• March 17-21 – Spring Break.