20 Moms: Playdough Transfer and Match with Allison McDonald from No Time for Flashcards

I am so excited to welcome Allison McDonald from No Time for Flash Cards! Allison is a member of 20 Moms, and having spent a few days with her last summer, I can attest that she really is as rad as you think she is. Definitely a mom you should get to know!

After reading Allison’s post, you can hop over to another 20 Moms blog, Peanut Blossom, and find my post. From there you can keep following the links until you’ve come full circle. You’re sure to find great posts, fabulous blogs, and some of the best people out there on the internets! It’s one big party, and you’re invited!

Every child has their favorite things. A special doll or stuffed animal to sleep with, a tee shirt that they insist on wearing until it falls apart, and many also have favorite materials to play with . My daughter’s favorite thing to do when I ask her if she wasn’t to do a project is almost always playdough these days.

This activity or “project” doesn’t have strict boundaries the materials and tools suggest they should match the colors ( which my daughter did) but the goal is to work on eye hand coordination and fine motor skills. Color recognition and counting will probably be natural add ons to the learning but don’t get caught trying to make sure you child knows which olors match or how many balls of playdough are left to transfer. Using the tongs usually ads lessons in patience and perseverance as they are tricky to handle for beginners. Also because the playdough isn’t hard the tongs must be used with a firm but gentle hand or it ends up squished all over.

Here is what we did:

1. Gather your materials. You will need an empty egg tray or carton. Multiple colors of playdough, and a pair of tongs. I use the store bought playdough more often than not but if you would like a recipe for homemade I have a bunch including a gluten free one.

2. Roll the different colors into small balls. Pinch a small bit off to place into the egg tray or carton.

3. Welcome your little one to the task by asking them what they see and what they think these items are for. You don’t have to lay out rules, there is no wrong way to do this. I barely got through the questions before my daughter was matching up her first colors.

She moved through the colors one at a time. This picture cracks me up at 2.5 she is an old pro! While you play label and make observations of what’s going on but don’t step in and correct. If they put the pink on the white don’t stop them just label it with a statement like this ” I see you put the pink ball on the little white ball of playdough.”

Another reason I love using playdough for mini lessons like these is that after this is done we can sit and open it up to free play. Take the tongs and tray away ( or leave them in we pretended ours were cupcakes after finishing the task) and continue the play.

For more creative ways to use playdough to teach young children check out our blog and our Sensory Play For Kids Pinterest board.

Allison McDonald is passionate about education. She is a former preschool teacher and mom who now spends her days creating and testing out activities for her blog No Time For Flash Cards and nights writing for Scholastic Parent’s brand new family literacy blog, Raise A Reader. Between work she can be found playing with her kids and husband at their home outside of Seattle.

Connect with her online at her blog, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Check out all the posts in the 20 Mom circle today! Head over to Tiffany Dahle’s blog, Peanut Blossom , to read my post and find out where to check out Tiffany’s post as well. Each post will lead you to another fantastic post, and another wonderful blog. Enjoy the tour!