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Garden Play Dough

One of our most successful activities at camp this summer tied into our explorations of taste, flavor, and smell: we made garden play dough.

There are few "toys" as universal and wonderful as play dough, and allowing children to customize it was a hit, time after time.  I used a tried-and-true recipe (see below), and worked with the children in small groups to find things in the garden that look and smell beautiful, concentrating on the herb spiral.  The children were able to snip oregano, thyme, sage, basil, and lavender; they also gathered some flower petals to add in.

I noticed that, from the very start, many of the children took their piece of play dough and split it into a few small pieces, and they made a few different small balls.  The first group of children I did this activity with were 7-12 year olds, and while they were just as engaged as the younger ones that did this a week later, they approached it differently.  There is a lot of room for creativity and independence here, and that was clear as the children began to find ways to dye the dough.

You can see a small raspberry on the mat here: once one girl asked about using a blackberry for color (we were right next to a big bush with a few ripe ones on it), it was a popular choice.  We saw experimentation with blackberries, raspberries, grass muddled in a mortar and pestle, attempts at crushing flowers with rocks - truly endless possibilities!

This activity was a natural addition to the explorations we had been doing in the garden, and I was glad to find that it was interesting for a variety of ages, too.  As one of the 11-year-olds said, "No one ever asks if I want to play with play dough anymore!"

Garden Play Dough

Original Recipe from Tiny Bird Organics

1.5 Cups Flour

1/3 Cup Salt

2 teaspoons Cream of Tartar

1.5 Cups Water

1.5 Tablespoons Oil

In a pot, whisk together the dry ingredients; when uniform, add the wet ingredients and put the pot over medium-low heat.  Whisk to make a uniform matter : it will look like pancake batter.  Switch to a rubber spatula and stir slowly, ensuring that you are moving the batter from the bottom of the pan.

When you notice parts beginning to solidify, continue stirring to be sure that liquid parts are getting to the bottom of the pan to cook.  When it has formed a rough ball with no more wet-looking edges, move it to a counter or board and knead as it cools.

(Note : You can cook the play dough with the kids, of course, but for this particular activity, I made the dough and the kids joined in for the next step!)

Split the dough among the kids, and either have herbs available, or harvest herbs together.  Encourage them to use scissors to cut them into small pieces or distribute the scent well; you can also have other tools available, such as a mortar and pestle, a hand chopper (I love this one), or really anything else you  (or the kids!) can imagine.

water + laughing

I have had moments when I have told children to stop something like this - pouring water on someone else.  These girls are clearly enjoying the pouring, the repetition, the sensory aspect of cool water on their arms - this is work.  An adult might stop them because they assume a child wouldn't want another to pour water on her arm; because it is to loud for the teacher's taste; because there is a "keep to yourself" type rule at the sensory table.

I love seeing things in the classroom that I have never seen before.  I'll share another moment that made me stop and think later today.

think about water

Thinking about water means thinking about mud, paste, floating, spraying, flowing...

Sand Play

...and another opportunity for you to brush up on your Finnish.

Sticky

 

  

  

  

Thanks to Teacher Tom and Alderwood House School for the inspiration (and the challenge...)!  We may be amateurs at the tape thing, but we're learning fast.  Some are also learning that you can cut your way out of a tape blocked area, which is causing some drama, but we'll see how Tuesday goes!

the tactile workshops

I am grateful for like-minded people. I was given this little book by our incredible school librarian, and I devoured it in one short tram ride. It is packed with photos of children interacting with planned sensory experiences, with very little text. What is said, though, truly makes you stop.

Je suis reconnaissant pour les gens aux vues similaires. Notre bibliothécaire extraordinaire m'a donné ce livre, et je l'ai lu dans le tram en vingt minutes. Il y a beaucoup de photos des enfants font des projets sensorielle, et un petit peu de texte. Mais, ces mots vous font penser.

Natural Play Dough

It's all the rage. I found this recipe over on this blog and it's just perfect. Scenting the play dough is so nice -- the children recognized the lemon smell of my first batch immediately. (I used lemon zest...so there were a few little pieces of lemon skin in there as well.)

The natural coloring is wonderful, too -- I used turmeric for this batch. I was a little scared that is was going to dye our hands yellow temporarily but cooking it does the trick.

And the options are endless! We made chocolate play dough -- the cocoa powder scented and colored it. I'm thinking about going on a walk through the forest and having the children find things that might color our play dough and make it smell great. Grass? Flower petals? Who knows.