Making playdough: If you have access to the ingredients, you can make playdough with your child at home. Here are a couple of playdough recipes:
- (Without cream of tartar):
1 cup of flour
1/4 cup of salt
3/4 cup of water
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
Food coloring
Any seasonings or scents you would like
- (With cream of tartar):
2 cups all-purpose flour.
3/4 cup salt.
4 teaspoons cream of tartar.
2 cups lukewarm water.
2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil (coconut oil works too)
Food coloring, optionalSome possible activities you can do with playdough include: pretend food play together with kitchen tools, or while you’re making meals your child can pretend to help with playdough “food”; work on making long snake shapes, which you can then bend into the first letter of your child’s name; or playing counting games with little playdough balls that you can add or subtract, maybe turning them into buns and singing the Five Little Buns song!
Counting Songs: In Oak we’ve consistently been singing songs that involve counting, such as Four Green and Speckled Frogs, or Five Little Ducks! You can do the same at home, and pause between each verse to ask your kiddo “How many frogs/ducks were left?”
Sat on a speckled log
Eating some most delicious bugs (yum, yum!)
One jumped into the pool
Where it was nice and cool
Then there were three green speckled frogs
(Start again with three frogs Five Little DucksFive little ducks went out one day
Over the hills and far away
Mama (or Baba, or Grandpa…) Duck said “Quack quack quack quack”
But only four little ducks came back!
(Continue until there are zero ducks, then:)
Sad Baba duck went out one day
Over the hills and far away
Baba duck said
“Quack quack quack quack”…(pause for suspense)
And all of the five little ducks came back!!
Naughty Butterflies: This is a game we often play during gross motor time in our classroom. It can just be a silly game or useful tool to help children get on board with non preferred tasks. The basic idea is you use exaggerated body language (so they know you’re joking) saying “Ok Naughty Butterflies, whatever you do, do NOT pick up the toys!!”, they will usually giggle and begin doing the thing you’ve asked them not to. Continue “Oh no! I wanted to do that all by myself. Ok fine, but don’t turn into cats!” etc.
