• Home
  • SAVE TIME IN THE ACADEMY
  • BROWSE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT LIBRARY
  • MEMBER LOGIN

The Empowered Educator

Inspiring ideas, training and resources for early learning.

  • SHOP EDUCATOR RESOURCES
  • NEW? START HERE
  • FREE Planning Guide
  • My Story

Fine Motor Fun – Christmas Bauble Playdough

by The Empowered Educator 1 Comment

The playful preschoolers had been reminding me all day that I threw out their old playdough and promised we would make some Christmas playdough ‘soon'. Apparently ‘soon' meant today and they weren't going to give up!
So I pulled out my favourite uncooked playdough recipe which is very similar to the one Anna shares on the Imagination Tree which is wonderfully soft. It really is so easy to make your own quickly, I also like to use my microwave playdough recipe when I want a longer lasting dough.

After spying some left over baking cachous at the back of the pantry earlier in the week I decided they would be perfect to create some Christmas bauble playdough…as you do.

 
 
My girls love to make playdough and it is so easy to get them involved in the measuring, mixing, kneading and colouring process.
 
As this was to be our special Christmas themed playdough I pulled out the little balls and we talked about how they looked like the baubles we had put on the tree, only smaller in size.
 
I asked the girls to make a hole in the dough and then poured some of the coloured balls in and asked them to push and roll them into the dough.
Quick and easy Christmas bauble playdough- a fun fine motor and sensory activity for all ages!
Quick and easy Christmas bauble playdough- a fun fine motor and sensory activity for all ages!
 
I then added a little food colouring and some peppermint oil to add to the sensory experience of the hard balls and soft dough. As you can see in the photo below my little sensory seeker Ruby really enjoyed the new sensation of ‘smelly dough'!
 
Quick and easy Christmas bauble playdough- a fun fine motor and sensory activity for all ages!
 
Quick and easy Christmas bauble playdough- a fun fine motor and sensory activity for all ages!
 
 
I like to make a double batch of playdough because I use it with the family daycare kids during the week.
 
 
So when we had mixed all of the green colour and balls through the first batch we started making our red bauble playdough.
 
 
Quick and easy Christmas bauble playdough- a fun fine motor and sensory activity for all ages!
 
Don't you love those little balls? I thought they added quite the Christmas cheer and the girls had so much fun creating with them.
 
They are edible if little hands decide to pick them out! Obviously this dough is probably best suited to 3 year olds and up though if you aren't going to be supervising closely.
 
Quick and easy Christmas bauble playdough- a fun fine motor and sensory activity for all ages!
 
Not only did we mix them through the playdough, I also gave the playful preschoolers a little tub each of their own cachous to decorate with however they wanted.
 
Fantastic for strengthening their pincer grip and fine motor skills…and when the bottles were emptied they provided the opportunity for a new game as the girls began to transfer the balls back into the bottles.
 
Quick and easy Christmas bauble playdough- a fun fine motor and sensory activity for all ages!
 
Tara told me she was making a Christmas tree and used a cardboard roll from the recycle tub to make some circle imprints to decorate which were the baubles…obviously!
 
Quick and easy Christmas bauble playdough- a fun fine motor and sensory activity for all ages!
 
Quick and easy Christmas bauble playdough- a fun fine motor and sensory activity for all ages!
It was very important work and the concentration was intense as those little fingers got a workout while creativity and imagination took over…who is to say it doesn't look like a Christmas tree? To Tara it did and that is all that counts!
Quick and easy Christmas bauble playdough- a fun fine motor and sensory activity for all ages!
 
The finished tree complete with mini baubles….
 
 
Quick and easy Christmas bauble playdough- a fun fine motor and sensory activity for all ages!
 
Ruby did lots of watching as her twin created beside her but she approached her playdough differently – preferring to use the Christmas cutters to make ornaments which needed to be decorated with balls and wrapped carefully in a tissue .
 
Quick and easy Christmas bauble playdough- a fun fine motor and sensory activity for all ages!
Quick and easy Christmas bauble playdough- a fun fine motor and sensory activity for all ages!
I really love the endless play opportunities that playdough creates, when one masterpiece is finished another begins its creation….
 
Quick and easy Christmas bauble playdough- a fun fine motor and sensory activity for all ages!
I showed the girls how to roll the dough out a little thinner so we could use the cookie cutters to make some shapes for decorating.
Quick and easy Christmas bauble playdough- a fun fine motor and sensory activity for all ages!
I laid the shapes out on some paper as the girls passed them to me and then asked them to help me decorate with their shiny balls!
 
We had fun mixing the colours and making mini playdough baubles to place around our tree. Tara was so proud of her efforts as you can see in the pic below…
Quick and easy Christmas bauble playdough- a fun fine motor and sensory activity for all ages!
They both enjoyed helping me decorate the trees and stars with their baubles.
Quick and easy Christmas bauble playdough- a fun fine motor and sensory activity for all ages!
And rolling and placing what seemed like an endless number of balls…
 
Quick and easy Christmas bauble playdough- a fun fine motor and sensory activity for all ages!

Two very busy little girls on a rainy Saturday afternoon……

Quick and easy Christmas bauble playdough- a fun fine motor and sensory activity for all ages!
 
All because of a little coloured playdough and a few cachous found in the pantry.
 
Quick and easy Christmas bauble playdough- a fun fine motor and sensory activity for all ages!
 
See more of my Christmas crafts and activity ideas HERE. 
 
Find more ideas like this for early learning and network with other early childhood educators from around the world in The Empowered Ed Community
 

 

 
 
 
 

Filed Under: family fun, fine motor fun, sensory fun, sensory play

« Easy Toddler Christmas Gifts for Family
Weekly Wanderings..Easy Ideas & Inspiration for Outdoor Play »

Comments

  1. Kathy says

    30/11/2013 at 8:53 pm

    My 7 year old will love doing this will have to make some in December. Regards Kathy A, Brisbane, Australia

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Jodie
Hi, I'm Jode, Mum to twins and a teen, and an early childhood educator.
I love to share ideas & resources for play based learning
Find out more about me here...

pinterestfacebooktwitterinstagram

What Can I Help You With?

Family Day Care

Outdoor Play

Sensory Play

Simple Planning

The World Around Us
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Refund Policy
  • Privacy Policy

.

Copyright © 2023 · Market theme by Restored 316