february 2023
Throughout the past couple weeks, the children and educators came up with the idea to start a project with homemade playdough. After using the playdough for a couple of days, they realized it was getting hard and going to dry out soon. So, they came up with the great idea to use the playdough cutters, cut the playdough into different shapes, dry them out, and then paint them. First, they decided which shapes they wanted to use. They got the playdough, rolled out, and cut the dough. This took a couple of days to complete. After that, we left the playdough for two nights to dry out. The following afternoon, we set up the table, picked out the paint, and started to design each shape. After two whole afternoons of painting, the creations were complete. This project has come with so many benefits for the group. Molding playdough is excellent for developing a child’s fine motor skills. When the children work with playdough, they have a blank canvas waiting to be molded into something unique. It develops creativity as a child has to mold from an image they hold mentally. Even if they try to reproduce something they have already seen, theirs will always look different. As children continued to design, we observed their creations to show more detail and creativity. Teamwork was also a huge part of this project, as everyone had to work together to discuss the plans, steps, and processes involved.
Reena MEd BEd BMath BSc & Tatyana Popovik
