Make your own playdough with a small group of parents or carers and children (2 to 5 families). Encourage lots of talking and language as you make the dough together.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of plain flour
• 4 tablespoons of cream of tartar
• 1 cup salt
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 3 drops of food colouring
• 2 cups of boiling water (for adult use only)

Method

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Add the oil and food colouring.
3. Carefully pour the boiling water into the bowl.
4. Mix the dough with a spoon.
5. When the dough has come together, knead until smooth.

Ways to develop numeracy through play

• While you are making the dough, talk about measurement and size. Say something like “fill the measuring cup right to the top. That makes 1 cup. Now we need another cup of flour. That makes 2 cups of flour.”
• Children will be developing an understanding of relative sizes like a teaspoon is smaller than a tablespoon.
• Children will be developing an understanding about quantity eg 2 is more than 1.

Ways to develop literacy through play

• Read the recipe out to the children.
• Talk about the sequence of the recipe, and the way ingredients change as we mix them together.
• Talk about textures like dry and smooth.
• Talk about sensory experiences such as “how does it feel, wet/dry, hot/cold, sticky.”
• Add some essence, herbs, spices or glitter. Talk about what you see and smell.
• Take turns adding ingredients and mixing. Say “it’s Amy’s turn to add a cup of flour, now it’s Sam’s turn to add the salt.”
• Use lots of language to describe what you are seeing and doing.
• Ask the children questions to predict the next steps in the process or choose from options like what colour to make the dough today.

• Add rice, sand or glitter to the dough for different textures.
• Add different essences/oils like vanilla, lemon or lavender for a different smell.
• Add cocoa, ginger or other spices.
• Add some fresh herbs like mint to your dough.
• Leave the dough natural or use earthy tones.
• Make other craft doughs such as:
  • cloud dough
  • bread dough
  • white clay
• Add cutters and rollers.
• Make patterns in the dough.
• Add patty pans and pop sticks.
• Add natural items such as seedpods, small twigs, stones, leaves and flowers.
• Cook some scones.
• Make pikelets or flat bread.

Play prompts:

• Ask families what doughs, like chapatis (Indian flatbread) or bread they make at home? (see resources section for more ideas).
• Use words like dry/wet, sticky/soft and squishy.
• Give families a recipe to take home.
• Give families a small container of playdough to take home with them.
• Use laminated placemat prompts, eg can you make some fruit and leaves for the tree in the picture?

Parents or carers can:

• Comment on what their children are doing (say what they see).
• Talk in their home language.
• Use literacy and numeracy words (see words to use section above).
• Help their child to stir the mixture.

You can help families by:

• Modelling what you want them to do.
• Talking to them about the focus of the activity and what children might be learning.
• Writing up words that go with the activity.
• Making suggestions on what families can do at home.

Great Start activities are for parents and carers to do with their children.

• Playing with playdough
• Make your own playdough
• Making pasta