SuperBabies Toddlers Preschoolers Kinders STEAM Tinkering
Art Milestones by Age
If your child can control a fork or spoon to feed themselves, then you can give your child a chunky marker or paint brush to start drawing or just to let your kids scribble. Once you have a few lines drawn we will get started on the fun part… coloring it in! Be proud to show off a scribble that shows he/she is learning and interested in drawing and coloring.
Let your kids pick a few or the whole box of markers, colored pencils, or crayons to color their picture. They can even play the game of making no color touch. That seemed to be more fun for the older kids.
Option 2
Or choose an easy paint technique for your cards
Prep your setup. Cardstock or art paper is preferable to typical printer paper because it can withstand being saturated with moisture. Use low tac tape (like painter’s, masking or washi tape) to secure your paper to your painting surface and prevent it from sliding around. If your table is not easily washable, a large cutting board is a great alternative.
Paint with friendly colors. One mistake that leads to a muddy masterpiece is allowing kids access to ALL the colors at once. Instead, choose 2-3 colors that are next to each other on the color wheel and not ones that are opposite from each other. For example, blue, green and yellow are friendly. Blue and orange are not!
Scatter the paint across the page. Small hands sometimes lack the finesse needed to dip and drag paint from containers. An easy solution is to pre-dab the paint on the paper and encourage your child to swirl the colors together.
THIS IS A HUGE TIP IN HELPING YOUR CHILD'S FIRST ATTEMPTS AT ART
Experiment with unique “brushes.” Kids love to explore the marks that unusual tools make. Let them paint with their toys, dab with Q-tips, or a stamp with paper rolls. Even if you don’t own paintbrushes, a cotton ball held with a clothespin creates a similar effect.
Display Your Child’s Art with love.
After their creations are dry, use your low tack tape to “frame” the paper on the wall. Grouping the paintings together in your child’s room creates a special gallery space that your tiny artist will be proud to show off to everyone!
Toddler art milestones progress from sensory-driven scribbling (12-18 months) to controlled lines and shapes (2-3 years) and representational drawing (3-5 years). Key milestones include holding crayons in a fist, drawing circles, imitating vertical lines, and eventually, adding detail to simple figures.
Sensory Focus: Interest in the texture of paint or crayons rather than the result.
Motor Skills: Random, large, sweeping scribbles, often using the whole arm or shoulder.
Grasp: Held in a fisted grip.
Capability: Can make marks on paper about an inch long.
Control: Moves from random marks to more controlled, repeated movements.
Shapes: May begin to make circular, dot, or diagonal, horizontal, and vertical lines.
Imitation: Can imitate a vertical line drawn by an adult.
2–3 Years (Pre-Schematic Stage):
Shapes: Drawing distinct, albeit messy, circles and lines.
Representation: Begins to assign meaning to scribbles ("This is Mommy").
Control: Better control of materials, and can sometimes keep coloring on a large sheet of paper.
3–4 Years (Basic Representation):
Forms: Draws controlled circles, crosses, and early, poorly formed squares.
Faces/Figures: Draws simple faces or stick figures with limbs.
Coloring: Shows interest in color, although they may not stay in lines.
Encourage Process over Product: Focus on the joy of movement and texture rather than a perfect final picture.
Use Diverse Materials: Offer chunky crayons, dot markers, playdough, and, if you dare, washable paint.
Vertical Surfaces: Tape large paper to walls to encourage shoulder stability and different muscle engagement.
Finger Painting: Encourages hand movement and sensory stimulation.
Drawing and Scribbling: Develops grip and, by 18–24 months, the ability to imitate vertical lines or circular motions.
Sculpting with Clay/Playdough: Builds hand strength and dexterity.
Cutting with Safety Scissors: Improves bilateral coordination.
Mixed Media/Collage: Encourages experimentation with textures.
Fine Motor Skills: Activities like holding crayons or using clay strengthen small muscles and improve dexterity.
Cognitive Skills: Toddlers learn to make decisions, plan, and experiment with cause-and-effect.
Emotional Expression: Art provides an outlet for expressing emotions, such as using colors or movements to represent feelings.
Focus on Process: Emphasize the experience of creating rather than the final, polished product.
Create a Safe Space: Set up a dedicated area, such as covering a wall with paper, that allows for easy cleanup and free exploration.
Keep it Short: Limit activities to 5–20 minutes to match their attention spans.
Engage in Dialogue: Talk about the colors, shapes, and textures they are using.
If a toddler shows no interest in making marks, cannot grasp a crayon, or seems significantly delayed in fine motor skills compared to peers by age 3 or 4, it is worth discussing with a pediatrician, as these skills are often tied to early writing development.
Art Projects & Tinkering : Exploring Textures
& Colors
Art projects can be enjoyed by even very young learners. Infants love sensory experiences that allow them to experience different shapes, materials, and textures. They notice the difference between a smooth piece of paper and squishy finger paint, and often find enjoyment in getting messy! In this article, we explore a few simple ways to introduce art and creative experiences to the youngest children in your care.
Drawing & Making Marks
Once infants are able to sit on their own, they can participate in a number of activities that engage them in artistic exploration. You might start by offering a large piece of paper and some wide markers or crayons that are relatively easy for children with still-developing motor skills to hold in their hands. Introducing paints will add an additional sensory experience to the art project.
One important tip is to let the child lead the way! As you observe infants practicing their first drawings, use the following questions to guide your observations: What kinds of questions do you think they’re asking to themselves? What are they curious about? Are they interested in the crinkly texture of paper, or the bright colors of the markers? Rachelle Doorley, a former educator and founder of TinkerLab, shares an experience doing this activity with her baby girl: “She seemed to understand that she was responsible for making the marks on her paper, in the same way that she recognizes that pushing a light switch down turns the lights out. It’s remarkable to watch these firsts, full with their ‘ah-hah’ moments, as each succeeding experience builds on these foundations.” Click here to find the full TinkerLab post and read more about introducing drawing to infants.
Contact Paper Collage
Creating a collage with contact paper is another great way to introduce sensory experiences to infants. This project will help infants explore how “stickiness” feels, as they practice sticking, removing, and re-sticking a variety of different textures. Any pieces of scrap fabric, paper, or even natural materials from outside (such as leaves, flowers, or sticks) can be used to make beautiful and unique collages.If you do not have contact paper on hand, a similar activity can be set up using large sheets of construction paper and stickers. If you have a low window or glass door, young children can enjoy watching the light shine through the different colors and shapes placed on the glass.Here are some more ideas for adding fun, variety, and learning to this activity…Use feathers, yarn, tissue paper, pieces of cardboard, or pom-poms on the contact paper to add more texture.
Offer items from the same color family to stick on the surface, and talk with children about all of the different shades of the color.
Cut the contact paper into different shapes, such as a large heart or star, to introduce children to basic, foundational math skills.
Offer foam letters to stick onto the paper and have conversations with infants about each of the different letters as they stick them to the paper.
Cut out images from magazines, including pictures of food, plants, and faces so infants can see different people, places, and things as they complete their collage.
Infant-Safe Paint
Use feathers, yarn, tissue paper, pieces of cardboard, or pom-poms on the contact paper to add more texture.
Offer items from the same color family to stick on the surface, and talk with children about all of the different shades of the color.
Cut the contact paper into different shapes, such as a large heart or star, to introduce children to basic, foundational math skills.
Offer foam letters to stick onto the paper and have conversations with infants about each of the different letters as they stick them to the paper.
Cut out images from magazines, including pictures of food, plants, and faces so infants can see different people, places, and things as they complete their collage.
Finger painting is a fun way for infants to feel and explore squishy and gooey textures. Because infants are interested in exploring items with their mouths, it is important to offer taste-safe paints. One popular recipe that is easy to make includes just two ingredients — plain yogurt and food coloring! Older infants can be included in the process of stirring in ding mixing in the different colors with the yogurt. Click here to learn more about yogurt-based finger paint, including some fun ideas for using it in your classroom.
Using Play Dough For Developing Art Skills
Using play dough is an excellent way to introduce toddlers to, blending the sensory, moldable nature of dough with the soft, textured, and colorful characteristics of felt. Combining these materials enhances fine motor skills, encourages creativity, and provides a multi-sensory experience that makes exploring textures engaging for young children.
Using play dough with toddlers is an excellent, low-mess way to foster creativity, fine motor skills, and an early interest in art. Key techniques include making 3D sculptures, stamping textures with household objects (forks, cookie cutters), creating "poke-in" creatures using items like straws or beads, and using dough as a base for imaginary play scenes.
Artistic & Sensory Play Dough Activities
Texture Stamping: Encourage toddlers to press items into flat dough to create patterns, such as seashells, LEGO bricks, or toy car tracks.
"Poke-In" Sculptures: Use toothpicks, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, or dried pasta to create 3D creatures and monsters, which builds fine motor skills.
Play Dough Mats & Scenes: Use printable mats or draw simple scenes (like a face or a tree) and have toddlers add dough to complete the picture.
Imaginative Play Baking: Provide muffin tins, candles, and cookie cutters to create "cakes," which introduces color and shape recognition.
Drawing on Dough: Use markers or crayons to draw directly onto the dough, or mix different colors together to explore color theory.
Tips for Success
Add Loose Parts: Enhance creativity by adding items like glitter, beads, or buttons.
Combine with Other Media: Incorporate popsicle sticks to make structures or use paint to make prints of the molded dough.
Keep it Open-Ended: Focus on the process of exploration rather than the final product, allowing for sensory, free-form play.
Key Activities to Combine Play Dough and Felt:
Felt "Stamping" & Impressions: Cut felt into simple shapes (circles, squares, stars) and let toddlers press them into flattened play dough to create textured imprints.
Sensory "Pizza" or "Sandwich": Use dough as the base and let toddlers add felt scraps (red for tomatoes, green for lettuce, yellow for cheese) to make "food".
Felt & Dough Creature Making: Encourage children to make dough balls and insert felt strips, shapes, or cutouts to create, hair, wings, or clothing for characters.
Felt Pressing & Hiding: Hide small pieces of felt inside a ball of dough and let the toddler dig them out, or press felt pieces onto the surface of the dough for a textured collage.
Soft & Hard Contrast Play: Discuss the difference between the soft, fuzzy felt and the firm, squishy dough while playing.
The activities on this page encourage the development of fine motor skills through pinching, rolling, and pushing, while introducing new, soft textures to their sensory play.
Before we dive into specific activities, let's understand why playdough is such an exceptional material for STEM education. It’s not just about keeping little hands busy; it’s about engaging multiple senses and cognitive functions simultaneously.
Sensory Engagement: Playdough provides a rich tactile experience. Squishing, molding, stretching, and rolling engage children's sense of touch, which is crucial for brain development and processing sensory information. This direct interaction helps children grasp concepts more deeply than simply looking at pictures or listening to explanations.
Fine Motor Skill Development: Manipulating playdough strengthens the small muscles in the hands and fingers, which are vital for tasks like writing, drawing, and using utensils. Rolling coils, pinching small pieces, and pressing down firmly all contribute to this essential development.
Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking: When children are tasked with building a bridge strong enough to hold a toy car or creating a perfectly symmetrical butterfly, they encounter problems that require creative solutions. They learn to plan, test, observe results, and adapt their approach, which are core components of critical thinking and the engineering design process.
Creativity and Imagination: Playdough is an open-ended material that encourages imaginative play. Children aren't limited by predefined shapes or functions; they can create anything they envision. This creative freedom is essential for innovation, a key aspect of all STEM fields.
Language and Communication: As children engage with playdough, they often describe their creations, explain their process, and narrate stories. This natural interaction promotes vocabulary development, descriptive language, and the ability to articulate thoughts and ideas.
Abstract to Concrete: Many STEM concepts, like geometry or physics, can feel abstract to young learners. Playdough makes these concepts tangible. A child can literally build a cube to understand its faces and edges, or demonstrate how a ramp works by creating one.
10+ Open-Ended Play Dough
Tinker Box Ideas
Playing with play dough provides myriad developmental benefits in early childhood. What I love about play dough is that it provides unstructured, open-ended sensory play. Children could freely explore and manipulate play dough without rules, guidance or even an end-product in mind.
As my toddler started making leaps in abstract thinking and imaginary play nearing 2 years of age, I started creating play dough invitations to play in the form of small world themed tinker boxes -- which she thoroughly enjoys. These play dough tinker boxes hold her attention longer than ordinary play dough play, generate lots of pretend play opportunities and reinforce her learning of nature and science. I included a section about learning benefits from play dough tinker box play below.
Choice of Tinker Box Materials
These are my preferences for the materials to be used in the play dough tinker boxes -- considering factors like optimal learning, practicality (ease of cleanup) as well as environmental impact.
Small realistic figurines: Realistic play is one of the tenants of Montessori-based education. Where possible, I provide small realistic human and animal figurines for my toddler's play so she could meaningfully relate to the objects, pay attention to details and better understand the world around her.
Sensory items: Items that vary in texture, size, color, shape provide great visual and/or tactile input during play.
Repurposed toys or household items: Heuristic play involves children inventing new ways to play with everyday items. Repurposing outgrown toys or household items (that would otherwise be discarded) in play dough tinker boxes gives these items a new lease of life -- often, I get pleasantly surprised by how my toddler incorporates them into play dough.
Nature-based loose parts: Using natural materials and objects in our environment like rocks and twigs acquaint children with nature. I love that there is so much flexibility in loose parts play -- they could be moved, combined, lined up, taken apart or put back together in limitless ways.
Tinker box: I used an old craft box -- the IKEA Glis Box -- for the tinker box itself. The downside is that it is made from plastic and not environmentally-friendly. However if you already have it, it's useful for tinker box play because of the way it had been compartmentalised -- it comes with 2 larger rectangular compartments and 3 smaller square compartments. Alternatively, you could reuse a large paint color palette with big compartments.
A more environmentally-friendly alternative would be to play dough trays using a wooden serving plate with compartments.
Homemade Play Dough Recipe
(Without Cream of Tartar)
The original recipe is from The Imagination Tree but I modified it since I didn't have cream of tartar.
Ingredients:
2 cups of toasted all-purpose flour (heat treatment to lower salmonella risk)
2 tablespoons of coconut oil
1/2 cup of fine table salt
2 tablespoons of lemon juice (substitute for cream of tartar)
1 cup boiling water (needed for salt to integrate)
Food coloring (I use Watkins because the colors are derived from vegetables and spices)
(Optional) For aroma, 2-3 drops of lavender essential oil or 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder. For texture, add lavender buds. For enhanced visual effect, add glitter into play dough.
Steps:
Mix the flour, lemon juice and oil in a large mixing bowl
Add salt and food coloring to the boiling water then stir continuously to dissolve salt
Mix colored salt mixture into dry ingredients until a dough is formed
Allow the dough to cool before kneading it until you achieve desired consistency. Add small increments of flour until it is no longer sticky.
Playdough STEM Activities by Discipline
Let's break down how playdough can be utilized across the different pillars of STEM, plus the important "A" for Arts, making it STEAM-focused.
Science (S) Activities
Science is all about observation, experimentation, and understanding the world around us. Playdough offers a safe and malleable medium for young scientists to explore.
Playdough Volcano Eruption:
Concept: Chemical reactions, acids and bases.
Activity: Have children mold a playdough volcano around a small, empty cup or container. Fill the cup with a few tablespoons of baking soda. Then, pour in vinegar (add a few drops of red food coloring to the vinegar for extra visual effect). Watch the fizzy eruption!
Learning: Kids observe the immediate reaction between the baking soda (base) and vinegar (acid) producing carbon dioxide gas. This is a primary example of how our Erupting Volcano Cakes kit makes science delicious, allowing children to create their own edible volcano that bubbles over with deliciousness, mimicking real chemical reactions in a safe, fun, and tasty way.
Extension: Experiment with different amounts of baking soda or vinegar to see how it changes the eruption. Try adding dish soap for more foam.
Fossil Dig and Imprints:
Concept: Paleontology, geology, pressure, texture.
Activity: Roll out flat pieces of playdough. Use toy dinosaurs, leaves, shells, or other textured objects to press into the playdough, creating "fossils" or imprints. Let them dry to see how the shape holds.
Learning: Children learn about how fossils are formed over time, the concept of pressure, and the different textures objects can have. They can become paleontologists, identifying "ancient creatures" from their molds.
Extension: Try using different types of clay or homemade salt dough to compare how different materials hold impressions. Our Fudgy Fossil Dig kit takes this concept further, allowing kids to excavate edible dinosaur fossils from delicious chocolate "earth."
States of Matter with Playdough:
Concept: Solids, liquids, gases (indirectly), malleability.
Activity: Discuss how playdough is a solid, but it can be changed and molded. Compare it to water (liquid) and air (gas). What happens if you try to make a ball of water? What about a ball of air?
Learning: Introduces the basic concept of states of matter and how materials behave differently.
Extension: Leave a piece of playdough out overnight – what happens to it? This introduces concepts of evaporation and hardening.
Weather Modeling:
Concept: Meteorology, cloud types, weather phenomena.
Activity: Use different colors of playdough to model various weather elements: white for fluffy clouds, grey for stormy clouds, blue for rain, yellow for sun, even a rainbow!
Learning: Kids visualize and represent abstract weather concepts, helping them understand what different clouds look like or how different weather conditions are depicted.
Deliver a complete "edutainment" experience right in your home.
Technology (T) Activities
Technology isn't just about computers and smartphones; it's about tools, processes, and innovation. Playdough can be a fantastic medium for exploring basic technological concepts.
Playdough Tools Exploration:
Concept: Tool use, function, problem-solving.
Activity: Provide a variety of playdough tools (rolling pins, plastic cutters, garlic press, cookie stampers) and let children explore how each tool changes the playdough.
Learning: Kids discover the purpose of different tools and how they can be used to achieve specific effects. This builds an understanding of basic engineering principles and tool functionality.
Extension: Challenge them to create a flat sheet without a rolling pin, or a long "noodle" without a garlic press. This encourages innovative tool use or problem-solving without traditional tools.
Conductive Playdough Circuits:
Concept: Basic electricity, circuits, conductivity.
Activity: This requires special conductive playdough (recipe below) and insulating playdough, plus a battery pack and small LED lights. Children can build simple circuits where the conductive playdough allows electricity to flow, lighting up the LED. Insulating playdough can be used to prevent shorts.
Learning: This is a truly hands-on way to understand how circuits work, what conductivity means, and the basics of electrical flow. It's a powerful introduction to electrical engineering and physics.
Conductive Play Dough Recipe:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 1/2 cups water
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp cream of tartar
Food coloring (optional)
Special Ingredient: 1/2 cup lemon juice or vinegar (acid for conductivity)
Special Ingredient: 2-3 tbsp additional salt (for extra conductivity)
Optional: 1 tsp glitter (just for fun, doesn't affect conductivity) Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring continuously. The mixture will start to clump and thicken. Continue stirring until it forms a cohesive ball. Remove from heat and knead until smooth. Let cool completely before use.
Insulating Playdough Recipe: This is your basic no-cook playdough recipe from above, but without the added salt or lemon juice/vinegar. The goal is for it not to conduct electricity.
Extension: Challenge kids to build more complex circuits, or even "squishy" robots with light-up eyes.
Pattern Making with Stampers and Rollers:
Concept: Design, repetition, mechanical processes.
Activity: Provide various patterned rollers or stampers. Children can experiment with creating repeating patterns or designs on flat sheets of playdough.
Learning: Introduces the concept of design repetition, understanding how pressure and movement create different effects, similar to how machinery can produce patterns.
GO DIECTLY TO OUR Playdough Activities
Engineering (E) Activities
Engineering is about design, building, and solving problems using principles of structure and function. Playdough, with its malleability, is an ideal material for budding engineers.
Building Structures (Towers, Bridges, Houses):
Concept: Stability, balance, structural integrity, load-bearing.
Activity: Provide playdough along with building materials like popsicle sticks, toothpicks, straws, or even uncooked spaghetti. Challenge children to build the tallest tower, the strongest bridge (that can hold a small toy car), or a house with a stable roof.
Learning: Kids experiment with different shapes and connections. They learn that triangles are often the strongest shapes for support, and a wide base provides more stability for a tall structure. They experience trial and error, a fundamental part of the engineering design process. For example, a parent looking for a screen-free weekend activity for their 7-year-old who loves challenges could try to build a bridge that can support a small toy car using only playdough and toothpicks.
Extension: Introduce concepts like "load" by seeing how many small objects the bridge can hold before collapsing. Discuss why some structures are stronger than others.
Ramps and Mazes:
Concept: Gravity, force, motion, incline, spatial reasoning.
Activity: Have children create ramps of varying heights and lengths using playdough. Then, roll small balls of playdough or marbles down them. They can also create simple mazes for the balls to travel through.
Learning: They observe how gravity affects the speed of the ball, how the incline changes the force, and practice spatial planning to create effective pathways.
Extension: Introduce obstacles in the maze and challenge them to find ways to make the ball navigate them.
Simple Machines Exploration:
Concept: Levers, pulleys (simplified), wheels and axles.
Activity: While more abstract, playdough can help. Create a simple lever using a playdough fulcrum and a popsicle stick. Experiment with lifting small objects. Mold playdough wheels and try to attach them to an axle (e.g., a toothpick) to see if they roll.
Learning: Provides a basic, concrete understanding of how simple machines help us do work.
Extension: Discuss how these simple machines are used in everyday life (e.g., a seesaw is a lever, bicycle wheels are wheels and axles).
Floating and Sinking Experiment:
Concept: Buoyancy, density, displacement, design.
Activity: Give children a chunk of playdough. First, ask them to make it float. (It will likely sink if simply dropped in water). Then, challenge them to mold it into a shape that will float, like a boat or a wide, flat raft. Test different designs in a basin of water.
Learning: This is a classic engineering challenge that teaches about buoyancy and how shape affects whether an object floats or sinks, even if its material is denser than water.
Extension: See how many small objects the playdough boat can hold before it sinks, introducing concepts of capacity and weight distribution.
If you're an educator or run a group, these types of engaging, hands-on activities can be easily scaled for multiple children. We offer versatile programs for schools and groups, available with or without food components. Learn more about our versatile programs for schools and groups.
Mathematics (M) Activities
Math is everywhere, even in a ball of playdough! From counting to geometry, playdough offers countless opportunities to explore mathematical concepts.
Shape Exploration (2D & 3D):
Concept: Geometry, properties of shapes (sides, vertices, faces), spatial reasoning.
Activity:
2D Shapes: Use cookie cutters or plastic knives to cut out circles, squares, triangles, rectangles, and other 2D shapes. Count the sides and corners.
3D Shapes: With playdough balls as vertices and sticks/straws as edges, build cubes, pyramids, prisms, and other 3D shapes. Count the faces, edges, and vertices.
Learning: This is a highly effective way to understand geometric properties tangibly. Children can feel the corners, count the edges, and see how 2D shapes combine to form 3D structures.
Extension: Challenge them to build a shape with a specific number of sides or faces. Our Galaxy Donut Kit invites children to explore astronomy by creating their own edible solar system, tying into spheres and orbits, much like how playdough helps visualize 3D forms.
Measurement Fun:
Concept: Non-standard measurement, comparison (longer, shorter, heavier, lighter).
Activity:
Length: Roll out "snakes" of playdough and compare their lengths. Use unifix cubes or small toys to measure how many "units" long each snake is.
Weight: Use a simple balance scale (or even hands) to compare the weight of different-sized playdough balls.
Learning: Introduces fundamental measurement concepts in a hands-on, relatable way, laying the groundwork for standardized measurement later on.
Extension: Challenge them to create a snake exactly "5 paperclips long."
Patterns and Sequencing:
Concept: Pattern recognition, repetition, sequencing.
Activity: Create repeating patterns with different colors of playdough (e.g., red, blue, red, blue...). Use cookie cutters to make patterned sequences (star, circle, star, circle...).
Learning: Develops critical thinking skills related to recognizing and extending patterns, a core mathematical and logical skill.
Extension: Ask them to create their own unique patterns and explain the sequence.
Counting and Number Sense:
Concept: One-to-one correspondence, number recognition, simple addition/subtraction.
Activity: Roll small balls of playdough and use them for counting exercises. "Make 5 balls." "Give me 3." "If you have 2 and I give you 1 more, how many do you have?" Press number stamps into the dough, or write numbers and have them place the corresponding number of playdough balls next to them.
Learning: Reinforces fundamental counting skills and builds early number sense.
Extension: Use playdough to create simple bar graphs, like graphing how many red balls vs. blue balls they made.
Arts (A) – Blending into STEAM
At Incredible Kids Network!, we proudly advocate for STEAM, recognizing that the "Arts" are not separate from, but integral to, innovation and problem-solving. Playdough inherently encourages artistic expression.
Color Mixing and Theory:
Concept: Primary and secondary colors, color blending.
Activity: Start with primary colored playdough (red, yellow, blue). Encourage children to mix them to discover secondary colors (orange, green, purple).
Learning: Directly teaches color theory in a hands-on, memorable way.
Extension: Talk about warm and cool colors, or experiment with adding more of one color to change the shade.
Sculpting and Storytelling:
Concept: Expressive arts, narrative development, character creation.
Activity: Encourage children to sculpt characters, animals, or objects and then use them to tell a story or create a scene.
Learning: Develops imagination, narrative skills, and spatial awareness as they bring their stories to life in 3D. Even beloved characters can make learning fun, like when kids make Peppa Pig Muddy Puddle Cookie Pies which combines a popular character with culinary arts and fine motor skills.
Extension: Set up a mini "stage" or backdrop for their playdough creations.
Texture and Impression Art:
Concept: Texture, negative space, printmaking.
Activity: Use various textured items (leaves, lace, bottle caps, forks, combs) to create impressions and textures on flat playdough surfaces.
Learning: Explores different textures, patterns, and the concept of how objects leave unique marks.
Extension: Try creating a "texture collage" by pressing several different items into one large piece of playdough.
The integration of arts into STEM is central to our philosophy. This holistic approach ensures that children develop a well-rounded set of skills. Ready to bring this holistic "edutainment" home?
Facilitating Learning:
Tips for Parents and Educators
While playdough STEM activities are inherently engaging, your role in guiding and facilitating the learning process is crucial. It’s less about telling and more about asking.
Ask Open-Ended Questions:
Instead of "What is that?" try:
"Tell me about what you're making."
"What do you think will happen if...?"
"How could you make that stronger/taller/flatter?"
"What materials did you choose, and why?"
"What problems did you face, and how did you solve them?"
"What did you learn from this experiment?"
Embrace the Process, Not Just the Product:
The true learning in STEM comes from the exploration, the trial-and-error, and the thinking process, not necessarily from a perfect final product. Celebrate effort, perseverance, and creative problem-solving, even if the tower falls or the experiment doesn't work as expected. These "failures" are invaluable learning opportunities.
Encourage Experimentation and Risk-Taking:
Let children try their own ideas, even if they seem unlikely to work. This fosters independence and resilience. "What would happen if we tried it that way?" is a powerful question.
Provide a Rich Environment, Then Step Back:
Set up the materials, introduce a challenge or an idea, and then allow space for independent exploration. Sometimes the best learning happens when children are given the freedom to discover on their own terms.
Document and Reflect:
Take photos of their creations.
Ask them to draw or write about what they made or discovered.
Keep a simple "STEM journal" where they can record their observations or ideas. This helps solidify learning and builds metacognitive skills (thinking about their own thinking).
Adapt for Different Age Groups:
Toddlers (1-3 years): Focus on sensory exploration, fine motor development, and simple cause-and-effect. Provide chunky tools, large pieces of playdough, and supervise closely. Safe, non-toxic homemade playdough is ideal. Let them squish, roll, and pull.
Preschoolers (3-5 years): Introduce basic shapes, colors, and simple building challenges. Encourage imaginative play and storytelling. Focus on verbalizing observations and choices.
Early Elementary (5-8 years): Introduce more complex engineering challenges (sturdier structures, ramps with specific goals), basic measurement, and the beginnings of scientific inquiry (predictions, observations). The conductive playdough circuits are great for this age group.
Remember, the goal is to foster a love for learning, build confidence, and develop key skills, not to guarantee a future scientist. It's about creating joyful family memories while subtly introducing fundamental STEM concepts.
Beyond the Basics:
Expanding Playdough STEM
Once your child is comfortable with the fundamental playdough STEM activities, you can introduce more complex concepts and integrate playdough with other materials.
Incorporating Natural Elements:
Take your playdough and play outdoors! Collect leaves, twigs, small stones, acorns, and flowers. Use them to create nature-inspired sculptures, examine their textures and structures, or even build miniature habitats. This integrates biology and environmental science into your play.
Thematic Playdough Stations:
Dinosaur Dig: Bury plastic dinosaur bones or small dinosaur figures in playdough "earth" for an archaeological dig.
Space Exploration: Use blue playdough for space, and white/yellow for planets. Add glitter for stars. Mold planets, rockets, and aliens. Our Galaxy Donut Kit is another fantastic way to explore astronomy and create edible celestial bodies, making abstract concepts like galaxies tangible and delicious!
Ocean Life: Blue playdough for water, green for seaweed. Create marine animals and discuss their habitats.
Construction Zone: Use yellow or orange playdough for "dirt," and bring in toy trucks, diggers, and small blocks to create construction sites. Focus on building and demolition.
Integrating Art and Storytelling (STEAM):
Encourage children to use playdough to illustrate stories they've read or create characters for their own narratives. This strengthens literacy skills alongside STEM concepts. For instance, after reading a book about bridges, they might be inspired to build their own playdough bridge, using their creativity to solve the engineering challenge presented in the story.
Collaborative Projects:
Encourage siblings or friends to work together on a large playdough STEM project, such as a giant city, a complex maze, or a detailed model of a farm. This fosters teamwork, communication, and negotiation skills – essential in real-world STEM fields. For larger groups or classroom settings, our programs are designed to facilitate this kind of collaborative learning. Learn more about our versatile playdough ideas for home, schools and groups.
Introducing Felt for a Early Art Form
I would also like to give you some information about using felt play as one of your child's first art form.
Create felt play and art activities by cutting assorted colors of felt into shapes (animals, trees, geometric shapes) that stick to a DIY felt board
Use scissors, markers for tracing, and fabric glue for easy, no-sew creations like felt boards, finger puppets, or food, providing hours of quiet, imaginative play. YouTube +3
Key Felt Activities:
DIY Felt Board: Wrap a piece of felt around a corkboard, foam board, or cardboard, and secure it with hot glue or push pins.
Felt Shapes/Story Set: Draw shapes (trees, characters, houses) directly onto felt or create templates with paper, then cut them out.
Felt Dress-Up Doll: Cut out a person shape and various clothing items that stick together.
No-Sew Felt Food: Cut circles and triangles for felt pizzas or cookies, and use glue to add toppings.
Seasonal Scenes: Create a fall tree with leaves or a Christmas tree with ornaments.
How to Make:
Prepare the Surface: Create a felt board by covering a sturdy, flat surface with felt.
Cut Shapes: Sketch shapes (fish, trees, animals) onto felt, or use templates.
Assemble: Cut out the shapes using sharp scissors. For added detail, glue on smaller pieces.
Play: Place the pieces on the felt board to create scenes and stories.
How to make your own felt art set
Who else had one of these when they were little?
How to make felt art Use this diy kit to make beautiful felt art at home.more
This clever activity will keep them occupied while you make it together, and then provide endless hours of entertainment while they play with it (quietly) afterwards. Winning!
Whether you’re in transit, or shut in at home, in a cabin in the woods, or up a tree, you can create the most amazing images without picking up a pencil. Let us show you how.
What you need
Felt sheets (multi colour pack)
Scissors – paper and fabric
Pencil or pen
Zip lock bag
A4 glitter foam sheet
To kick-start your felt art kit you can use the template provided here. Additionally, you have the freedom to create your own shapes that may not already be part of the template. You are limitless in the shapes you want to create.
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Do you remember doing this as a kid? Image: supplied.
Activity
Print out the templates at 100 percent. You can print out just the first template, the second, the third or all three together! Cut out the individual template pieces.
Trace the template pieces onto the felt sheets, using any colour combination you want. As an alternative to the template, you can draw your own shapes onto the felt sheets.
Cut out the felt shapes with fabric scissors (or really good craft scissors).
Lay an A4 glitter foam sheet down on the table in front of you. Decorate the sheet with the cut felt pieces. Build a scene with the felt pieces available. Create an image based on a memory. Or use your imagination to create a dream landscape. It’s totally up to you.
For safekeeping, store felt shapes in a zip-lock bag. We wouldn’t want those pieces to accidentally wind up in the vacuum cleaner.
Want more cool craft projects? Check out this simple stationery caddy, try your hand at your very own dummy fairy house, or this beautiful worry doll project.
Tips:
Storage: Keep pieces in baggies to avoid losing them.
Materials: Use stiff felt for better durability.
Cleanup: Do not throw away scraps; they can be used for smaller, abstract art projects.
Create simple, interactive felt pages for a quiet book. For instance, a felt tree with velcro dots where children can attach felt apples or leaves, or a felt face where they can change felt eyes, noses, and mouths. This is excellent for storytelling and developing vocabulary.
Fantastic Felt Busy Box Ideas
Start your own collection of fantastic felt busy boxes with these ideas!
It is safe to say that I have a thing for busy boxes, felt busy boxes to be specific! It is such a useful little toy to have, whether you use it while traveling, during quiet time, keeping an older sibling entertained while feeding the baby or just to keep at hand to play with at any time, a very useful toy indeed! TIP: Make a few different ones to rotate and your children won’t get bored.
You really don’t need much to make your own busy boxes, only a box of some sort(we use lunch boxes) and felt. Most of these I just cut without templates(if you are a little creative you can do it too by looking at the pictures), or you can order our ebooks that have all the templates
Here are the felt busy boxes(click on the blue link to go to the actual post with details):
Felt Busy Box Templates
Under the Sea Busy Box
Space Busy Box
Scarecrow.pdf
What I love about busy boxes.
They develop art skills with the mess of glue. Plus they can be used as both process focused or end product focused art.
Felt busy boxes or flannel boards (or bags) foster early art skills by encouraging creativity, fine motor development, and color/shape recognition through tactile play.
They allow children to design, arrange, and rearrange felt shapes, enhancing visual perception, spatial reasoning, and independent, imaginative artistic expression.
Key Art Skills Developed
Creativity & Composition: Children arrange felt shapes to create scenes, characters, or "paintings," fostering imaginative thinking.
Color & Shape Recognition: Using felt pieces in various colors and shapes aids in learning visual design elements.
Fine Motor Skills: Activities such as sticking, placing, and rearranging small, textured pieces build hand-eye coordination and precision.
Fine Detail and Spatial Awareness: Manipulating felt items, such as in a felt busy book with interactive, detailed scenes, helps children understand spatial relationships, such as in this Tik Tok post.
Common Felt Busy Box Activities
Felt Board Scenes: Creating scenery on a felt board using pre-cut shapes (e.g., trees, houses, animals).
"Dress Up" Characters: Making, changing, or dressing up characters, such as in this Instagram reel and this TikTok post.
Storytelling Mats: Using felt pieces to tell or retell stories, enhancing artistic narrative
Add more detail about this feature, such as benefits, appearance, components
Felt busy boxes or flannel boards (or bags) foster early art skills by encouraging creativity, fine motor development, and color/shape recognition through tactile play.
They allow children to design, arrange, and rearrange felt shapes, enhancing visual perception, spatial reasoning, and independent, imaginative artistic expression.
Key Art Skills Developed
Creativity & Composition: Children arrange felt shapes to create scenes, characters, or "paintings," fostering imaginative thinking.
Color & Shape Recognition: Using felt pieces in various colors and shapes aids in learning visual design elements.
Fine Motor Skills: Activities such as sticking, placing, and rearranging small, textured pieces build hand-eye coordination and precision.
Fine Detail and Spatial Awareness: Manipulating felt items, such as in a felt busy book with interactive, detailed scenes, helps children understand spatial relationships, such as in this Tik Tok post.
Common Felt Busy Box Activities
Felt Board Scenes: Creating scenery on a felt board using pre-cut shapes (e.g., trees, houses, animals).
"Dress Up" Characters: Making, changing, or dressing up characters, such as in this Instagram reel and this TikTok post.
Storytelling Mats: Using felt pieces to tell or retell stories, enhancing artistic narrative
More Felt Crafts for Different
Ages and Skill Levels
One of the greatest advantages of felt craft is its adaptability. Projects can be easily modified to suit the developmental stage and skill level of any child, ensuring that everyone can participate and experience success.
Toddlers & Preschoolers (Ages 2-5)
For the youngest crafters, the focus should be on sensory exploration, very basic manipulation, and immediate gratification.
Activities: Felt collages (peeling and sticking pre-cut shapes onto a larger felt board), large felt shapes for imaginative play, gluing large felt pieces together with white school glue (e.g., making a simple two-piece animal head).
Skills: Color recognition, shape recognition, fine motor development (peeling, placing, squeezing glue), sensory exploration.
Tips: Pre-cut all shapes. Use chunky, easy-to-handle felt pieces. Always supervise closely, especially with small embellishments.
Early Elementary (Ages 5-8)
Children in this age group are ready for more structured projects and can begin to develop basic crafting skills with guidance.
Activities: Simple no-sew projects (pencil toppers, finger puppets, decorating pine cones or corks), introductory sewing with large-eyed blunt needles and embroidery floss (running stitch for felt strawberries or simple heart ornaments).
Skills: Following multi-step instructions, cutting with kid-safe scissors, developing basic sewing techniques, more complex problem-solving (e.g., designing details for a character).
Tips: Provide clear, step-by-step instructions. Encourage independent work but offer assistance when needed. Celebrate effort and progress, not just the final product.
Older Kids & Tweens (Ages 9-12+)
This age group can handle more complex designs, multiple components, and can refine their sewing skills.
Activities: Designing and sewing more intricate felt toys, creating practical accessories (sleep masks, pencil rolls with embellishments), embellishing clothing with felt appliqués, developing more advanced stitches like the blanket stitch for decorative edges. They can often follow patterns more independently or even design their own.
Skills: Advanced fine motor control, precise cutting and stitching, pattern reading, independent design, critical thinking, persistence with longer projects.
Tips: Encourage them to personalize projects, experiment with colors and textures, and even design their own patterns. This is a great age to introduce the proper use of sharp craft scissors and a low-temp hot glue gun (under direct adult supervision).
Beyond the Craft:
Integrating Felt into STEM Learning
While felt crafts are inherently artistic, their tactile and versatile nature makes them surprisingly effective tools for exploring STEM concepts. Think of felt as a hands-on learning aid that can make abstract ideas concrete and engaging.
As parents and educators, our role is to provide opportunities for children to explore, create, and learn in engaging ways. Felt craft for kids is a powerful tool in this endeavor. It's affordable, accessible, and endlessly customizable, making it suitable for spontaneous creative bursts or planned educational projects.
Felt Board Storytelling & Early Math Concepts
Felt boards are a classic educational tool, and for good reason!
Storytelling & Literacy: Children can create felt characters and props to retell stories, invent new narratives, or illustrate rhymes. This enhances comprehension, vocabulary, and narrative skills.
Math Concepts: Use felt shapes to teach geometry, pattern recognition, and counting. "How many red squares do we have?" "Can you make a pattern with circles and triangles?" "How many blue felt fish are in our ocean?" They can also be used to visualize fractions or simple addition and subtraction problems.
Science & Nature: Create felt pieces for different parts of a plant, the water cycle, or various animals and their habitats. Children can physically arrange these elements to understand natural processes.
Felt is ideal for nature-themed crafts due to its versatility, rigidity, and texture.
Popular projects include creating pinecone fairies and gnomes, embellishing rocks with animal features, making garlands with leaves or mushrooms, and designing 2D nature landscapes, such as lakes and mountains, using needle felting techniques.
Nature-Themed Felt Project Ideas
Woodland Creature Crafts: Transform natural items into creatures by adding felt details. Use small pieces for wings, ears, or hats on pinecones, twigs, walnut shells, or painted stones to create foxes, mice, gnomes, or fairies.
Seasonal Decor: Craft colorful garlands by attaching felt shapes—such as leaves, mushrooms, acorns, or flowers—onto twine.
Wet Felting with Nature: Combine wet felting techniques with natural materials. Incorporate dried grasses, flower petals, or leaves into wool, which can be felted into small mats or shapes.
Needle Felted Landscapes: Create 2D "paintings" using felt wool, blending colors to represent mountains, skies, and forests.
Outdoor Art Installations: Use sustainable, natural wool felt to create eco-friendly art pieces like white felt leaves or soft forms that can be hung in outdoor settings. Key Tips for Working with Felt
Shapes: Felt holds its shape well, making it perfect for structured elements like fairy wings.
Scraps: Small leftovers can be repurposed for tiny details like spots on ladybugs or eyes on puppets.
Adhesives: PVA glue or fabric glue works best for attaching felt to natural items.
Using felt in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) education provides a tactile, durable, and versatile material that does not fray, making it ideal for hands-on, creative projects. Its unique properties allow for integration across all STEAM disciplines.
Here are specific ways to use felt in STEAM and Science:
1. Engineering & Technology: Wearable Circuits
Felt is an ideal medium for e-textiles because it is sturdy, non-fraying, and easy to sew.
Plush Felt Monsters/Robots: Students can create stuffed creatures and incorporate LEDs, coin cell batteries, and conductive thread to make them light up.
Circuit Planning: This teaches the engineering design process, sewing skills, and physics, as students must design, test, and troubleshoot their circuits.
2. Science: Biology and Environmental Studies
Modeling Biological Structures: Felt can be used to create soft, 3D models of cells, organs, or plant structures, which are helpful for visual and tactile learners.
Felted Ball Planets (Space Science): Students can learn about wool, keratin, and the science of felting (using heat, moisture, and friction to interlock fibers) by creating a model of the solar system.
Microscope Observation: Felt can be placed under a microscope to observe fiber interlocking or used as a base for mounting specimens.
3. Mathematics: Spatial Reasoning and Geometry
Shapes and Fractions: Felt pieces can be cut into various geometric shapes to teach, sorting, patterns, and sequences.
Felt Pizza/Food Math: Creating felt food allows children to explore fractions, counting, and measurement through play.
Fractional Pizza: Students can create a "pizza" out of felt and cut it into halves, quarters, or eighths to visualize fraction concepts.
4. Art & Creativity:
Felt Board Stories: Students can create scenes, characters, and props to tell stories, enhancing narrative skills and artistic expression.
Soft Sculptures: Felt is excellent for designing and sewing 3D shapes.
Stop-Motion Animation: Felt figures are durable, making them great for stop-motion, as they can withstand multiple repositionings without breaking.
5. Chemistry & Material Science:
Understanding Fiber Transformation: By exploring how wool transforms from loose fiber to a solid sheet, students learn about physical changes.
Properties Investigation: Students can compare natural wool felt with synthetic acrylic felt to learn about heat resistance, durability, and, to a limited extent, flame retardancy.
Tips for Using Felt in STEAM Activities:
Cutting:Felt can be cut with scissors or laser cutters.
Joining: Use fabric glue, hot glue, or sewing for assembling projects.
Conductive Elements: Use conductive tape or thread to turn felt projects into electronic, interactive devices.
Conclusion
We've journeyed through the vibrant world of felt craft for kids, uncovering why this versatile material is a treasure trove for children's development. From enhancing fine motor skills and sparking imaginative play to fostering patience and problem-solving, felt crafts offer a delightful and effective way to engage children in meaningful, screen-free activities. We’ve seen how felt projects can provide instant gratification, while simple sewing ventures introduce valuable life skills and a profound sense of accomplishment.
For more info on the usefulness of felt and tons of activitiesCLICK HERE