Maia's first day of summer vacation was earlier this week. The day unfolded, slowly and gently, without a plan of any kind. Pajamas were worn well into the day. There was lots of art, plenty of playtime, and some reading, swinging, and baking as well.
All in all, a good start to summer vacation.
We keep a few simple art materials near the dining table and the girls often draw a bit in the morning, before or after breakfast. This morning, however, they got out the playdough instead of paper and crayons. I expected they'd play with it for maybe a half hour, but three hours later they were still at it.
Three hours!
Maia started off by pressing circular designs in her playdough "cake" with the ends of large wooden lacing beads. Then she carefully added toothpick candles around the perimeter.
Daphne did something similar, pressing designs in her playdough with a patterned rolling pin and then adding a row of toothpicks across the middle.
Maia then took hers to a whole new level with a structure of toothpicks and little playdough balls at the center (much like the grape and other toothpick sculptures we've done). We all admired it, then she took it apart so she could make something new.
Using our silicone muffin liners as molds, Maia then created playdough cupcakes.
They were lovingly decorated with beads and toothpicks.
When Maia moved on to string bead necklaces, Daphne took over the cupcake decorating process (with Maia's permission).
She really, really liked it.
Really.
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7 Comments
rosie eisenberg
June 8, 2012 at 11:38 amit is so cool to see how they transfer one art activity into another. just goes to show how all kinds of information transfers to many areas of one’s life. connections! it’s what it’s all about! happy summer vacation!
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June 8, 2012 at 3:43 pmI love it!
Dena
June 8, 2012 at 4:33 pmso sweet!!
Melissa @ The Chocolate Muffin Tree
June 8, 2012 at 11:56 pmWe haven’t gotten out the play dough in a while. Thanks for the reminder. Beads and toothpicks will be a great addition too.
Katie
June 9, 2012 at 8:02 pmI’ve gotten so many great ideas from you, thanks. Would you share where you got your wooden stamping/rolling tools?
Jean Van't Hul
June 9, 2012 at 9:08 pmI’m pretty sure the playdough tools are a Melissa & Doug set. We’ve had them for a few years and really like them.
Jennifer
November 29, 2012 at 3:22 pmWhen they’re done playing do you toss the beads/dough or do you try to pick out the beads and rinse them off for another day? I’d imagine if they were rinsed before the dough hardened they’d be ready for another day. Any tips? I was envisioning warm soapy water in a pot with the beads in a sieve but I’m open to ideas!