Welcome to Toddler Tasks Thursday!

Diane Ackerman once said “Play is our brain’s favorite way of learning”.  If you watch a child or children playing, you will be able to see that indeed through the art of play they are learning and processing the world around them.  Toddlers are busy and haven’t developed a long attention span to most things yet.  Finding creative play-based activities or tasks that work on building specific skill sets, while allowing the brain to do what it does best, learn through play is the goal of Toddler Tasks Thursday.  Child Development experts say that typically a reasonable expectation of attention span is two to three minutes for each year of life.  So, if your child was 2 years old a reasonable expectation for attention span is 4-6 minutes. 

Welcome to Toddler Tasks Thursday!  Millie and I have been testing out ideas for Toddler Tasks Thursday and currently have several tried and true Toddler Tasks that will be hitting the blog in the next few weeks in this new series (Sorry friends, you can’t have all the good stuff all at once! 😊) If you are new to the blog, Millie just turned two in June and we are always looking for fun activities to learn through play.  If they meet our criteria, you will see them shared here!  Have an idea for Toddler Tasks Thursday?  Fill out the contact us form and Millie and I will test it out!

Toddler Tasks Thursday #1: Cloud Dough!

Millie has loved Play Dough for months, but I knew we had to try to make Cloud Dough.  Cloud Dough is a softer version of Play Dough and has a different texture.  I knew that she would like Cloud Dough because it would be easier for her small hands to manipulate.  Bonus?  Cloud Dough is insanely easy to make and you really only need two ingredients (well, three if you want it to be a fun color).  We made the Cloud Dough together because Millie loves to help out in the kitchen right now and I was shocked that she was able to put almost all of the dough together herself. 

HOW TO MAKE CLOUD DOUGH:

1. In a bowl, add ½ cup lotion.  (Keep in mind that if you are using a scented lotion, the cloud dough will have that smell)
2. Add a few drops of food coloring if you would like your cloud dough to have a specific color.
3. Mix the Food Coloring into the Lotion.
4. Next, add 1 cup of corn starch.  Mix this together well.
5. Take the dough out of the bowl and knead.  I recommend using wax or parchment paper to knead the dough on.
6. Assess the dough…is it too sticky?  Is it too dry?  If it is too dry add in some more lotion and continue to knead.  If it is too sticky add in some more corn starch and continue to knead.
7. THAT’S IT!  Play!

SKILL SET BENEFITS: 

1. Fine Motor Skills:
   • If you research the benefits of playing with play dough you may be surprised at just how much is developed through this play.  Playing with cloud dough produces the same results.  One of the biggest skill sets it enhances is fine motor skills.  As your child rolls, flattens, cuts, squishes, he/she is using hand muscles and tendons that build these fine motor skills.  It even improves pre-writing skills as the pincer grip (thumb and finger squeeze) improves through this type of play as well.
2. Vocabulary Skills:
   • As we play, Millie is hearing a variety of descriptive words that we may not normally use such as flatten.  She is also developing her own vocabulary skills as she tries to describe what she is doing or making back to me.
3. Creativity:
   • As we play, Millie starts to create naturally with what she is doing.  By molding with her own hands, cutting, reshaping, etc. she is learning.  She has started doing this and then naming objects she has created and playing with them (such as naming something she has molded together a bird and pretending).
4. Concentration:
   • We made Cloud Dough and she played with it for over half an hour, which for a 2 year old is a pretty sizable chunk of time.  This quiet activity is working her concentration and focus while being something fun that she enjoys.
5. Sensory Play:
   • Sensory play is any type of play or activity that stimulates the child’s senses.  In this case, touch.  The benefits of sensory play are amazing and are shown to have an impact on developing thinking, language, social-emotional, and physical skills.
6. Hand Eye Coordination:
   • While this one may be overlooked, playing and manipulating cloud dough enhances a child’s hand eye coordination as they work on their fine motor skills and create!

We added different things to the Cloud Dough as Millie played with it to extend the amount of time she was able to engage with this activity.  At first, she enjoyed playing with it and manipulating the cloud dough in her hands.  Then we added in some of her play dough toys such as her knife and different shape cutters.  Finally, we added in animals that she could play with and push into the dough, this (as the pictures show) was definitely her favorite.

You can keep the cloud dough by wrapping it in plastic wrap and storing in an airtight container.  Ours lasted a few days (but we played with it a LOT).  You can extend the amount of time yours lasts by adding in lotion and kneading if it starts to dry out. 

Are you going to try Cloud Dough?  Let us know how it goes!

Here’s to pursuing a present, simple life by living intently and always remembering what matters and what doesn’t.  Remember to give yourself grace and permission to enjoy the journey.  I’m always in your corner, cheering you on, and pulling for you friend!

With love always, Madison