Playdough is fun for anytime, but I love to add it to our preschool explorations as a way to apply learning. Scroll to see our homemade playdough recipe, some mountain-themed learning activities, and how to make a model mountain with playdough.
Book: My Very First Our World
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Reading and Learning About Mountains
During our preschool mountain-theme exploration we read several books about mountains. And during the reading and discussion we noticed the base of the mountains have more plants (vegetation) and that the plants and tree thins out toward the peak because it is too cold for trees to grow. We talked about the snow line and that lakes often form at the base of the mountain because the snow and ice from the top melt and trickle down.
Book: On the MountainThen it was time to apply our learning by building model mountains out of playdough!
WHY Playdough is Good for Preschoolers
Though it can be a bit messy, I love encouraging play with dough because it’s FUN, keeps kids BUSY, and helps develop their fine motor skills. As kids move towards school-age they need to have strong muscles in their hands for writing, cutting, and other tasks. And playing with dough is a great way to build those muscles as they: roll, flatten, chop, cut, poke, squash, pinch, cut, pound, and manipulate!
Preparing to Make a Model Mountain
To prepare for our mountain playdough sensory play, we got out a tub of plastic animals and sorted through to find all the ones that live on a mountain. Safari Ltd TOOB is our favorite choice for plastic animals, and the Nature TOOB or North American Wildlife TOOB are perfect for this mountain activity! (Bonus tip . . . look for the TOOBs at Hobby Lobby and use a 40% off coupon!)
After finding the animals I gave the kids different colors of play dough and just let them go — creating and building “mountains” and playing with the animals. Yes, the play dough colors got a bit mixed. But it was worth the fun they had during the sensory playtime!
Here’s a simple homemade play dough recipe for making your playdough model mountains.
How to Make a Model Mountain with Playdough
INGREDIENTS FOR HOMEMADE PLAYDOUGH:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup salt
- 4 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 2 cups lukewarm water
- 2 Tablespoons oil (vegetable, canola, coconut, etc.)
- Food coloring (we used green, blue, and red + green mixed = brown)
DIRECTIONS FOR HOMEMADE PLAYDOUGH:
Stir together flour, salt and cream of tartar in a large pot.
Next add the water and oil. If you’re only making one color, add in the the color now as well.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the dough has thickened and begins to form into a ball.
Remove from heat and then place inside a gallon sized bag or onto wax paper. Allow to cool slightly and then knead until smooth.
If you’re adding colors after, divide the dough into balls (for how many colors you want) and then add the dough into the quart sized bags. Start with about 5-10 drops of color and add more to brighten it. Knead the dough, while inside the bag so it doesn’t stain your hands. Once it’s all mixed together you’re ready to PLAY!
Use Playdough to Make a Model Mountain
Time to build and play! Use this chance to casually teach or review mountain vocabulary such as: base, peak, base, crest, slope, face, snow line, etc.
