We love play dough at our house, but we sometimes get bored with using it the same way. I like to add different items to our play dough time to keep interest up. Today, we added some beads which made the play dough look so pretty and also provided some great fine motor work for my kids. Next time you are looking for a quick activity, try play dough and beads or check out some playdough play ideas.
Play Dough and Beads
Supplies you will need:
- Play dough
- Beads
- Cookie Cutters
Before we started I used some cookie cutters to cut various shapes out of the play dough.
I gave the kids some shapes and a cup of beads and explained how they could decorate their shapes by pushing in the beads. As you can see, they really worked those little fingers pushing the beads in the dough.
Picking the beads out of the cup provided good fine motor practice as well. Often, the kids were looking for a specific color bead and had to dig through the cup and then pick up the small bead.
“A” filled her entire duck with beads. That’s one colorful duck!
Little C decided that she should fill up her shapes with beads too. She then kept herself busy picking each bead out of her play dough.
Proud mommy moment! “A” saw me photographing her work and got her kid’s camera (which actually works) and took a picture too. She’s a blogger-in-training!
I have to say play dough and beads kept the girls busy for a good 40 minutes which in mommy-time is an eternity! Please remind your kids not to put the beads in their mouth, nose or ears. None of your kids would ever do such a thing, right?
If you are looking for more fun ways to engage your kids, I highly recommend KiwiCo. As a former teacher, I was really impressed with the quality of materials found in KiwiCo. Some moms have told me that they want to do activities like I do on Mess For Less with their kids, but they just don’t have to the time to go buy all the supplies and prepare them for the activity. KiwiCo is the perfect solution. Every month your KiwiCo will focus on a particular theme like Colors, Dinosaurs or Gardening. KiwiCo offer a variety of projects ranging from crafts, imaginative play, science experiments and more.
If you liked this play dough and beads activity, you’ll love:
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Cranberry Morning says
That is so cute, and it gave me a chuckle when I read about the 40 minutes. That is so true, isn't it! 🙂
Cari and Cortnee @ Two Sasters says
What a great activity!! I LOVE the last picture of your little blogger in training…too funny!!
School Sparks Renee says
Fabulous idea! A great way to keep the PlayDoh activity interesting. Those would make great paper weights when they dry! Renee
Deb Chitwood says
What a wonderful activity for both creativity and fine-motor skills! I featured your post and photo in my Montessori-Inspired Spring Playdough Activities at http://livingmontessorinow.com/2013/03/18/montessori-monday-montessori-inspired-spring-playdough-activities/
Tammie says
After the artwork is made can you bake it?
Vicky says
I have never tried baking playdough so I’m not sure it would work. I know that if you leave it out for a few days it will dry and harden.