We all know play is one of the most powerful tools we have in educating our children and helping them learn new skills.
So it’s time to get creative with some helpful ideas using play dough and doddl from our friends at @owen_xplores!
First things first
First get your little one to prepare their kit. It’s basically pretend cooking.
So you’ll need your dough, doddl children’s knife (of course!), rolling pin, cutters and any extras that can help make funky dents or weird shapes. If you’re feeling crazy adventurous then make your own play dough and colour it.
Ready steady PLAY
Then get cracking. Encourage your little one to think about some of the foods that they have eaten recently. They can have a go at making those. Maybe introduce something they don’t like at the moment so you can refer back to this playtime when you try it again, and remind them when ‘they made it themselves’!
Learning through play
Knife skills are so important to master. It’s the difference between true independence at mealtimes and reliance on an adult to chop up food for years ahead. It also means young children can get more involved in cooking and food preparation. This is another excellent activity for little ones to get involved in, building a powerful understanding about different types of food and what goes into their meals.
Enjoy practicing!
Practice makes perfect, so get some different ‘food shapes’ lined up for them to chop up. They can really get the hang of pushing down and successfully chopping through all sorts of dough shapes. And obviously don’t forget the Oscar winning performance you’ll need to ready yourself for when you’re presented with a perfectly prepared play dough dinner..!
A bit about the doddl toddler knife – buy yours here!
- Suitable for 18 months to 5+ years
- Colourful soft touch areas to develop your child’s pincer grip (a key motor skill)
- Easy to clean and dishwasher safe
- Recommended by experts
