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Home | Store | Forum | What's New | Contact | About | Terms | Links | Storytime | Rhymes    Playdough activity ideas    Adding theme, focus and loose media to dough.     A spring themed primrose playdough activity  Happy hoppy rabbits!  ears and tail play This animal body parts activity supports the Hot cross bunny book by M. Christina Butler and Gavin Scott. An interesting read for the springtime where baby animals, bird chicks, growing plants seasons and lifecycles become a learning focus. The storybook examines hats as gifts- spring bonnets in the forum, the information that others give us, meaningful items, personal feelings and choice.   It also raises the issue of wildflower protection when Daisy rabbit crossly picks a pawful of primrose heads & disposes of them in a bin! The law and primroses: primula vulgaris is not included in Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 where a list of plants and flowers are classified as nationally protected, but they are categorised as a wildflower (when position and growth have occured naturally) so the landowners permission is needed before they can be picked. Protected plants: protection, surveys and licences gov.uk The rules on picking wildflowers article  guardian.co.uk  List of wildflower pollinators on RHS.org.uk Please adapt the following activity ideas to meet your own needs 1.  fine motor, problem solving: use flat, laminated mats for children to fill in and so create raised models within a structured, pre-formed outline. Use this as an option that supports children as they learn about the properties of dough, the recognition of rabbits, their shape, characteristics and body part names - scissors are a useful tool for cutting dough in this activity. 2. inventive and observational: use laminated resources and tactile materials to build up 3D replicas of children's own rabbit designs. Use this idea to encourage children's participation in constructing rabbits as they see them. 3. knowledge of the world around us and science: explore the spring, its weather, wild flowers and baby animals. Gather resources that celebrate this time of year, baby animals and how the warmer spring months help them to grow and stay healthy. 4. physical and communication: use conversation, language and vocabulary to describe how rabbits move - hop, dig, scratch, burrow, twitch, thump, listen, watch, sniff, nibble, reach, stretch, lick.  5. imaginative role play: source a collection of head wear that reflects the temperature of the season's - fluffy and warm, cotton light and cool. 6. personal, social and emotrional: examine our own feelings, emotions, moods, facial expressions in connection with the storybook and the words that name them all.   Magnifying glasses and  handheld mirrors help to explore the outside and observe emotions in action! magnifying glass - one handed learning mirror and two handed reflective safety mirror sets Rabbit ears, fluffy tails and primrose playdough! Resources needed     Brown playdough - & colouring on amazon.co.uk brown provides the base for rabbit colouring and the soil for flowers to grow from.   Shredded green paper as grass and play medium   Yellow craft foam to cut primrose petals from or yellow paper to create own designs.   Green paper to cut leaves from or printouts    Pom pom tails / scrunched up tissue paper balls or, make your own - pom pom maker Ears! make these from paper, card, craft foam or any other material.    Printables Hopping rabbit outline template - primrose numberline - primrose leaves - outline rabbit ears - colour rabbit ears - outline primrose leaf printables - outline primrose flower outlines - More information  About hot cross buns on wikipedia The first day of spring - spring or vernal equinox  When do the clocks go forward  - British daylight saving  Rabbits don't usually eat primroses, so expand the activity into foods fit for bunnies the carrot collage craft has more printables and ideas. All new activity ideas for dough are being added to playdough-activities.com