As most of us, I'm trying to find the good in what we are all going through right now. While it may be difficult at times, I do want to be able to focus on the good as much as possible. So far for me, the good thing about all that is going on is that I have had to reacquaint myself with some of my daughter's toys so we can fill up her school days with more opportunities to play. She has always been a fan of play dough and even at 10 years old, she can spend a lot of time playing with it. Her new favorite play dough is from our favorite Park Slope toy store, Norman and Jules. Land of Dough makes the most beautiful collection of that I have ever seen and the best part is that it is eco-friendly! Using plant-based colors, compostable glitters and adding scents using essential oils to help add a calming effect while they play, they create the most visually pleasing dough. From Unicorn Sparkle Glitter to their limited edition Easter collection, Eggcelent Dough and Chickety Chick Dough, each one is a work of art. So much so, I usually order two of each one so we can play with one and keep the other! Another great feature of Land of Dough dough is that even once it starts to dry out a bit after a couple hours of play, you can easily rehydrate your dough by wrapping it in a damp paper towel in the container overnight.
The developmental benefits of playing with Land of Dough is significant. First of all, this is an open-ended activity which is crucial for the development of social and emotional intelligence, encourages problem solving skills, creativity and imagination and independence. It also works on the following developmental skills:
*improves fine motor and manipulation skills while increasing strength in your little ones hands*improves pre-writing skills
*develops hand-eye coordination skills
*playing with dough can have a calming effect on children when they might be feeling scared or anxious
*improves social skills when you are sharing materials and taking ideas from others you are playing with
Here are a couple quick and easy activities you can do with your Land of Dough:-practice making shapes, letters and numbers by rolling your dough into long snakes with both hands. You can make flash cards for younger kids and can put the snake along the lines and for older kids have them do it freehand
-work on improving cutting skills by cutting those long snakes into little pieces
-gather some loose materials (dry pasta, googly eyes, pipe cleaners) and have your kids create faces or animals
-find small, thin pegs or use birthday candles to poke into the dough and then have them pull them out using just their thumbs and pointer finger to help develop grasping skills
Be sure to check back weekly for my collaboration with Norman and Jules. While their physical doors may be closed, they are working as hard as ever to make sure our kids are entertained during these crazy times. You can order toys to be delivered or for safe pick-up during their designated hours. You can still reach out to them for their expert opinions on what toys would be best to keep your kids stimulated and learning at the same time.
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