Long before you could buy commercial Playdough in a can, people were modeling with clay. Playdough and clay activities let your child use his imagination. He can create and destroy as much as he wishes. He can preserve his creation or he can squish it down and start all over again. Don't be surprised if your toddler is more interested in the process of working with this material than he is in creating something specific. You will find many recipes for homemade playdough in Appendix B.

Playdough Cooking

Making pretend food is just one of many creative uses for Playdough. You may wish to use older kitchen utensils or pick some up at a garage sale.

• Provide your child with various tools and utensils for cooking up a pretend playdough meal. Try these tools: garlic press for making pasta, cookie cutters, rolling pin, and measuring cups.

Playdough Textures

Enhance your child's playdough fun by adding texture activities.

• Provide your child with various tools and utensils for adding interesting patterns and textures to the playdough, such as a meat mallet, potato masher, corrugated cardboard, or screen or netting.

Mini-pots

Your child will develop fine motor skills as he explores ways to work with clay.

• Show your child how to roll the clay into a ball. Have him use his thumb to create an indentation in the middle and then pinch the sides out wider and higher to create a basic pinch pot.

• Show your child how to roll sections of the clay into thin coils and then place the coils together to build the walls of a pot.