Playdough Recipe Age L2mths + propriate to make with children, they get to play with it Please note that this recipe uses boiled water so is not api ‘once it's cooled down ents: © 2-cups of plain flour © Lcup of salt © 4tablespoons cream of tartar * 2 tablespoons cooking oil ‘© Food colouring ‘© 2-cups of boiled water Method: + Put the plain flour, salt and cream of tartar in a bowl and mix + Make a well, and put the oil in the bottom of the bow! then mix the food colouring into the oil + Add the water hot from the kettle and mix tall together ‘© Allow the playdough to cool, then knead Playdough will last months if stored in an airtight container or zip lock bag. Use child safe kitchen utensils from your drawers & cupboards Whilst playing with your child * Praise and encourage their efforts + Encourage using both hands * Sing songs. Make candles and sing “Hay zl ing “Happy Birthday”, or drum on the playdough and sing “Pat-a-Cake” * Sculpt creatures, cars, bugs, animals ae * Use pots, pans, muffin trays, spoons to do some pretend cooking © Have fun!Benefits of Playing with Playdough Playing with playdough helps children to strengthen and develop their fine motor skills, and eye hand coordination When used in pretend play it engages their imaginations and language. Whilst playing with playdough you can Press it flat with your fingers Press it flat with your palm Roll and make spaghetti/worm, Put it in a sandwich bag for squeezing@ Slime Recipes for Messy Play a Age 10mths + a Benefits of Messy Play Messy and sensory play helps children to strengthen and develop their fine motor skill, and eye hand coordination it also build up a repertoire of different textures, smells, sounds, sights (and often tastes!) that your child experiences to support the sensory system. if you ask simple open ended questions while your child is exploring with the slime such as “what does it feel like?” you also support their language development Home Made Slime Recipes = These are some easy ways to make slime of many different textures. You can also add food colouring if you prefer. Dissolved grated soap Dissolved soap whisked up to make fluffy Soaked oats made gluggy Plain flour with water aA Soaked tapioca pearls (soak overnight or cook & cool) Soaked chia seeds |‘Age 10mths + to play with finished recipes 1u can make goop or chalk paint, and with hot water you can make finger Corn flour is versatile; with cold water yo! some play recipes. Full recipes follow below. paint, paint, and glue. There are photos below to help you ‘cook’ isk or fork (this will stop it becoming if you continue on and add the boiling water whisking as you do you will notice it thicken almost immediately and become more transparent. Put it in a bow! with the option of adding a little colouring. Once it has cooled down to being warm it’s ready to play with as finger paint. BP If you continue to cook the cornflour/water mixture for longer, whilst constantly whisking it, you will notice it thicken to a gluggy consistency. Don’t make it too thick, as it will thicken more as it cools down. Once it’s cooled down it’s ready to use as glue. To make it into paint add some colour (food dye, crushed chalk). Other brush options if you don’t have a paintbrush are to use fingers, or the end of some cardboard Put your corn flour in a saucepan or bowl, add the cold water and mix with a whi lumpy). This makes your goop recipe below 7Goop Ingredients: +L cup comflour © Lcup water + Food colouring, Method: © Mix the water and food colouring in a cup ‘© Add the water to the cornflour and mix Play and experiment with the goop- when is it runny, when does it make a blob? Homemade Chalk Ingredients: © 1/2 cup cornflour © 1/2cup water * Food colouring Method: ‘© Mix the cornflour and water together in a bow! © Divide the mixture into amounts of how many colours you want to make * Add food colouring to each divided mixture ‘Take the mixtures using a brush to paint. Once the paint dries it will appear opaque like chalk, Finger Paint Ingredients: © 2 tablespoons of corn flour/ corn starch © cup of cold water © 2-cups of boiling water * Food colouring Method: * Mix the cold water and food colouring with the corn flour in a pot to make a thick paste Gradually add the boing water cooking it on the stove for about 1 minute continually mixing with a whisk Until it's a nice ‘custard like’ consistency Allow to cool to play with warm or cold Will keep in the fridge for up to a week You can also use SHAVING FOAM as a single ingredient finger paint (add colouring if you wish), 18 BeOeeeeeeeeeeEeESERE SE)i + Homemade Glue i Ingredients: © 2 tablespoons of corn flour/ corn starch * 1 tablespoon water e = 1cup of cold water Method: —_— © Mix the tablespoon of water with the corn flour to make a thick paste ina pot © Add the cold water and mix * Cook on the stove until it thickens ¢ Allow to cool | It will keep stored in the fridge for about a week. Homemade Paint Make recipe for Homemade Glue. Put into a few separate containers or cups and add some colour. To add the colour you can use food dye or crush up some chalk.‘Age émths + to play with a ball, 6yrst to make the ball Benefits of Playing with a Ball Ball games are great for supporting eye hand co-ordination, and fine and gross motor skills. With a ball you can roll, catch, throw, kick, bounce, toss in a box or throw through a hoop. As well as sewing a ball, balls can be made simply by scrunching up a piece of paper 4. Turn it right side round and add stuffing 5. Stuffing can be cut up bits of unused fabric scraps, paper. 6. Gather and ties off the bottom of the ball pushing the edges to sit on the inside (if you are using the toe of a sock you only need to sew up one end}a ‘small world’ in the rice. ‘Add some rice to a container (or bag) Age 12mths + Benefits of Rice Play Playing with rice helps children to strengthen and develop their fine motor skills, and eye hand coordination. When Used in pretend play it engages their imaginations and language. Rice can be picked up in the hands, poured through fingers or funnels, a single grain picked up with a finger and thumb or scooped etc. Rice play can also be used for pretend play if you add a pot and spoon to ‘cook’ with, or add some of their favourite toys such as dinosaurs to make Put it ina tub to play with adding cups, funnels, spoons, toys etcCloud Dough ‘Age 12mths + Cloud Dough is another great messy play recipe, introducing your child to new texture. Ingredients: 2 cups plain flour, % cup baby oil or vegetable oil, food colouring (opticnal) ‘Add the oil and food colouring in the centre Thoroughly mix the oil in the flour until it’s slightly mouldable, adding a bit more oil if necessary _ Play with using kitchenware or toys. It wll keep for months in an air tight container seme ReBeecrastataw eeex ~ OT ™ tw aa ¥ | | kas aS Age 2yrs + Ingredients: ‘© 1 cup plain flour (NOT self-raising) + cup salt = 1/210 3/4 cup warm water Method: Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Gradually add the warm water until the dough starts to hold together. Knead the dough, if itis a bit sticky add a little more flour. Let the dough sit for 20 minutes. Roll out the dough and make your keepsakes, Preheat the oven to 120C. Bake the keepsakes for approximately 2 hrs or until hard. They need to bake on a low heat slowly. Once baked and cooled you can add colour if you wish using paints, crayons or pencils, NOTE: the dough is high in salt so it not to be consumed. Roll out to make your salt dough decorations: hand & foot imprints, wishing or nature stones with imprints from c., dinosaur fossils with toy dinosaur foot imprints, cut out shapes with cookie cutters to decorate or leaves, shells et hang, make small pretend food for toy friends, and more. v‘Age 6mths + We have sound all around us: the sound of cars, birds, dogs barking, rainfall... Letting our children make sounds and play music helps them to build awareness of the different qualities of sounds (loud, soft, high & low pitched etc.) and words to describe sound (hum, thud, bang, bark, crash, creak, rustle, ring, squeal, whisper etc.). You can make your ‘own instruments at home to make music, sing along with, or play along to recorded music. Experiment to see what sounds you can make with your own body: voice, clap, tap thighs, stamp feet etc.) ‘Make your own shakers by filing empty bottles, paper bags, or staple two plates together Use natural objects to tap, shake and listen to: sticks, stones, gumnuts, seed pods, shells, 24 BEEBE BEES BEGSRG2aaE HE HETreasure Box Play Age 8mths + Benefits of Treasure Box Play Playing with everyday objects helps children to strengthen and develop their fine motor skills, and eye hand coordination. It supports the sensory system by exposing your child to many different textures, sounds, smells and colours When choosing your objects for your treasure box you need to make sure itis safe: not a choking hazard, not fragile, clean & won't cause injury. There doesn’t need to be too many things for discovery, up to 10 items is plenty. Some examples of what you might use are: * household objects: containers, kitchenware, sponges, paper, decorations, cotton reels, scarves, solid bracelets, ribbons, balls, baskets, egg cups, tea strainers, spoons, some of their smaller toys, plastic cup, photos, brush, whisk ‘+ found objects: gumnuts, leaves, feathers, sticks, stones, bark, shells, pinecone Bow! with kitchen objects Tissue box for posting objects Carboard box with found nature teasures CECE ReeLeaves for Play + Aleaf to hold, observe, feel, wonder with Leaves collected in the yard, on a walk @- Leaves in a container to touch and play with on Sensory bags; using a zip lock bag using whole leaves, soft leaves, crunchy leaves Leaves with water to see if they float or sink 26Leaves with playdough to make impressions and textures Leaves for making rubbings with crayons e Leaves for pasting & m Leaves for painting and printingScavenger Hunt (Indoor) Can you find... Rough ete ‘ | 3% fe Wooden Colourful Patterns iN See through Shadows Smooth (The photographs are examples. See what you can find that is rough, soft etc.)ie ee Can you find... Flower Spiky Bendy (The photographs are examples. See what you can find that is rough, soft etc.)Playing with Scarves ‘Age athe Scarves are a great ‘open ended’ play material. We can use s¢ ‘carves in many different ways. Here are some ideas and you can come up with your own! For babies and toddlers ‘+ Floating Scarf= with your child lying on their back gently float the scarf over them Watching the Scarf" slowly move the scarf so you baby can follow it with their eves Peek a 800: put the scarf over your face and pull off revealing your face and say a gentle ‘boo!” ‘Tummy Time: put the scarf in front of them and let them reach and feel the scarf For toddlers and older children Hide and Seek: hide the scarf somewhere in the room and let your child find it giving them some help if needed Throw and Catch: scrunch the scarf into a ball and take turns throwing it for the other to catch What's There?: hide something underneath the scarf and let you child guess what itis by looking and feeling it ‘© Dancing: put on some music and dance moving the scarf around Dance like no-one’s watching ‘As well as all the physical health benefits, dancing also improves general and psychological wellbeing, So grab your scarf, put on music and have a dance in the living room! (cted better Heath chanel, hitns//worw betteshesth vc gov auheath/ealthving/ a Age 120 a Rain dru an indiy n What y Empty nm Instruc aw a oon a wie \al im a il] ia tl wi al wl wl iw‘age 12mths + ain drums are another way to experience rain and sound. Depending on the materials used each drum will give off an individual tone. If you set up a few together you'll have a whole orchestra playing! what you need pty container, waterproof covering (glad wrap, foil, stretched balloon, plastic bag), elastic band or string Instructions Find a suitable container from recycling that is clean and child safe (no sharp edges). Put a covering on top securing it with an elastic band or string. If you are using a balloon cut off the bottom part so you can use the top to stretch over the opening of the container. Make sure the covering is taut. Place it outside when it’s raining or let your child hold it when you go for a rain walk. If you want to stay dry you may have a windowsill you can put the rain drum on outside, and listen to it through the window. Or outside the back door and you can listen from inside. You can even make your own rain with a watering can. if it’s light container you can put a stone in the bottom before adding the covering to stop tipping. You may see raindrops bounce!‘Age 6mth+ Use with supervision Sensory bags are a way to offer some sensory play but without all the mess. For young children the bag can be put on or taped to the floor during tummy time, or put on the high chair tray. Toddlers also love the squishy bags and older children may like an I-Spy version. Sensory bags should be played with under supervision in case they break open, and especially if you put small objects in them which could be a choking hazard. L Sensory Bags t \ { What you need A sandwich/ziplock bag. Filling Tape Instructions Fill the bag with a sensory material. Some suggestions are homemade slime or corn flour recipes such as fingerpaint. Close the bag securely and tape the end cover. You have the option of taping the bag toa surface for play. If you are making an I-Spy version fill the bag with rice. Find up to 10 small objects. You can take a photo of them or draw a ‘find it sheet’ to show what's inside (optional). Put the objects in the bag with the rice and mix them together. Close the bag securely and tape the end over. Children can move the rice around to find the objects hidden inside.CHEESES SEES EERERR EERE Sensory Bc ‘Age 6mth + Use with supervision. Sensory or shaker bottles are one of the easiest toys your child can make, or you can make for your baby/toddler. You will need to secure the lid well and only have young children play with the sensory bottle under supervision These can be used as shaker/rattle toys for babies and toddlers, They can be music toys for toddlers and older children. They can be [-Spy bottles filled with rice and small objects to find. They can be a small world bottle i. filled with dirt and toy dinosaurs. ‘What you need © A bottle with its lid from recycling * Something to fill your bottle with © Tape Instructions ott! Find a bottle in the household that is empty and wash it out, allow it to dry and remove any labelling. Fill the bottle with something that makes a pleasant sound or looks appealing. Some suggestions of things to fill your bottle with are: rice, sticks, beans, pasta, paper, ribbons, buttons, paper clips, soapy water, gumnuts, leaves, bells, paper clips, shells, beads, small toys The bottle only needs to be about a quarter filled allowing the materials inside room to move. If you're making it for a young child this also means it’s not too heavy for them. Put the lid on tightly, and tape around to secure the lid wella Sorting Trays a For ages 18mth+. Use with supervision. For young children only use items that are not a choking hazard. | sees mi Sorting trays are an activity that support the development of fine motor skills (pinching, grasping, transporting) and cognitive skills to distinguish different textures, colours, sizes and shapes. It uses the maths skills of matching, sorting and counting. When using sorting trays remember to follow your child's lead. With your child's imagination there are multiple ways to use a sorting tray. For ‘example your child may match colours, match type of object or be interested in learning how to use the tongs to pick up and carry. They may decide that the balls are cupcakes for baking and have a tea party. If you are listening and talking more while your child is playing you can describe textures and colours, count items and ask your child open ended questions such as, “tell me about what are you doing.” ‘What you need: © sorting tray © items for sorting ‘+ tongs, scoops & spoons (optional) Suggestions for sorting tray: muffin trays, egg cartons, ice cube trays, a few small bowls or cups put together Suggestions for items: gumnuts, buttons, cut/torn pieces of paper, balls, pasta, collection of bottle lids or bread ties, a dried beans, pebbles. ons: i” Instruc Present your child with a tray and items allowing them to explore moving and sorting the items in play.Age 18mths + Benefits Spray bottle artis a form of process art; where it’s the creation of the art and not the end product that is emphasised. It allows for a lot of discovery, experimentation and creativity. Think of the processes: finding and gathering leaves, finding surfaces to use, deciding how to place the leaves, is the surface on the ground or on wall, responding to how the spraying looks on different textures and colours. Leave room for experimentation and discovery. The children may discover other things to do with the bottle. It’s also ephemeral art in that it's not permanent, it will dry in the sunshine. What you need A spray bottle filled with water. Leaves (Please note that if you use a bottle from recycling to only use a bottle that had non-toxic contents, and you give it a good soapy wash before use.) Instructions Go for a walk in your yard or neighbourhood finding some leaves or other objects. Put the leaf on a surface and spray with your bottle all over and around it. Lift the leaf to see the ‘negative space’ print left behind.Window Decorations ‘Age 3yrs + Window decorations are a creative way to bring some fun to the home. For babies and Young children you can make some for them to gaze at. Older children can contribute to making them dependant on their skill evel. They may help make the paper colourful with their drawing, draw some shapes for you to cut around, help press down the fold lines or help cut out the shapes You can use any paper so long as it’s thin enough to fold over multiple times. You can use plain or coloured paper, newspaper or baking paper. Use what you have in the home. The yellow one is painted baking paper using watered down food dye. What you need: Paper, pencil, circle shape, scissors, tape Instructions: Using a circle shape, such as a bowl, trace around on the paper and cut out your, circle, Fold your circle in half. You can do this once or keep folding multiple times to make a wedge shape. Draw some shapes along the edges of the folded circle. Cut out the shapes. Fold out your circle flat and see what patterns you have made. With some tape attach your decoration to your window. 36