Play-doh sent Aidan some goodies recently and he lost his mind, I was suprised as he is six now and I thought he had outgrown Play-Doh. His eyes lit up and he couldn’t wait to create some fun things.

Watching him play reiterated why play-doh has always been one of my favorite gifts to give.

Why play-doh is still a favourite

Enhanced fine motor skill

Squishing, rolling, flattening or shaping  develops and strengthens hand muscles which encourages pre-writing and other motor skills such as cutting with scissors, using tweezers, holding a pencil etc.

Improves pre-writing skills

Actively engaging, develops your child’s pincer grip (the squeezing together of their pointer finger and thumb to grasp an object), which improves pre-writing skills.

Creativity and imagination

Unlimited moulding possibilities – from creating food replicas, animals, decorations, flowers and more the possibilities are endless. This encourages the development and use of imagination, which inspires creativity.

Calming effect

Sitting and squishing  is a very calming and soothing activity. It eases tension, releases extra energy as well as improves focus and concentration.

Develops hand-eye coordination

By using a variety of shapes and rolling pins while playing  your child can improve their hand-eye-coordination.

Increases curiosity and knowledge

Creating different shapes or mixing different colours together to uncover a new colour, can assist children in growing their curiosity, develop cognitive exploration and enhance their mathematical thinking.

Literacy and numeracy development

Activities that encourage children to physically create letters can help promote reading and writing skills. In addition, conversations amongst children and their parents during shared activities can lead to vocabulary growth. Children can practice their ABC’s with a more freeform, hands-on approach.

— Info courtesy of Play-doh SA and common sense

• I know play-doh can be a pain to clean up so check out my play-doh hacks for help