Here is a simple activity that my children absolutely loved that I wanted to share. I got the idea from a local EarlyOn Centre that I sometimes bring my youngest to so credit to Ms. Shelley for this one :)

We made play dough (recipe here for a homemade version) but you can use any kind of play dough and then we took items from our nature tray and incorporated them into the playdough - twigs, pinecones, pine needles, etc and some leftover fresh herbs, which made it smell fantastic.

So simple but we played with this for days!

This can be a full afternoon activity if you go out for a walk, collect some fallen items in nature, and then bring them back for the play dough activity after.

We also used this best-selling play dough tool kit from the shop.

The Less Well Known Benefit of Play Dough

Play dough is great for developing creativity and imagination BUT it's also a wonderful way to develop hand strength.

In order for children to participate in many self-care (i.e. hair/teeth brushing), self-dressing, or practical life tasks (sweeping, washing, wiping, etc), they need good hand strength, dexterity, and bilateral hand use (using both hands together).

Play dough is great for refining all of these skills... and it's fun!