The Imagination Tree

Creative play and learning for kids

  • Home
  • Start here!
  • Welcome
    • About Me
    • Popular Posts
    • Play Challenge
    • Subscribe
  • Age
    • Baby
    • Toddler
    • Preschooler
    • School Age
  • Activities
    • Literacy
    • Numeracy
    • Creativity
    • Physical
    • PHSE
    • Science
  • Resources
    • Spaces
    • Toys
    • Books
  • Contact
  • Kindness Elves

Ocean Play Dough and Loose Parts

June 18, 2014 by Anna Ranson

Make ocean play dough for exploring with shells, gems and other beach themed loose parts, as a lovely sensory play activity for summer time!

Ocean play dough

We made a new batch of our super quick, 4 minute, no-cook play dough to represent the ocean for some beach themed play. Into the boiling water we added 1/2 teaspoon of blue Wilton Icing Colour and a whole lot of silver glitter once it was kneaded together,  to make it sparkle! Read the easy, no-cook recipe instructions here.

Invitation to play with ocean play dough and shells

I set it out as an Invitation to Play with a bowl of shells in various shapes and sizes, blue and clear glass gems and a dish of fish and sea creatures.

Ocean play dough and loose parts for play

[The metal dishes they are in are plant pot stands from Ikea, £1 each. We use them for lots of play set ups!]

Ocean play dough with gems and shells

The sparkly, ocean coloured dough was very inviting and they enjoyed exploring the various textures of the loose parts as they added them to it. Miss 4 enjoyed making lots of prints using the shells and fish, exploring the ridges and bumps with her fingertips.

Ocean play dough and loose parts

They made patterns and collections using the gems, making them part of the stories they told as they played. They introduced some mini toy figures too, and took them along to the beach for a visit.Sea shells in ocean play dough

All of the girls played with this after school until bedtime, in lots of different ways, their play evolving over time. They ended up turning the play dough into sculptures with shells on top and clothes to cover their dolls and animal toys, decorated with the beach themed loose parts.

We have stored it in an airtight container and it should last for a few months.Ocean themed play dough recipe

See our huge collection of Play Dough Recipes and Activities, all from this blog!

Alternatively, browse the archives (there are many ideas to see!)

What they are learning as they play:

physical: fine motor strength and coordination through pinching, twisting, rolling, squeezing, flattening, moulding

creativity: using one object to represent another during play, using objects to create stories, patterning, sculpture, textures, printing

Literacy: creative storytelling, descriptive language

[The children are currently 5, 4 and 2 years old.]

This post contains an affiliate link for your convenience.

Related Posts

  • Alphabet Sound Machine
  • Kitchen Play
  • Coloured Salt Dough Leaf Impressions
  • Small World Play: Dinosaur Garden
  • Baby Play: Material Box
  • Beans and Flower Pots Counting Activity

Filed Under: Uncategorized

« Herbal Rice for Natural Sensory Play
Tinkerlab Book Review and Giveaway »

Comments

  1. Jennefer says

    June 19, 2014 at 12:40 am

    Loved this idea, thanks!
    I wondered where you got your little fish from, and other small creatures for small world play? I’m sure I’ve seen a link to a web page somewhere on your site but I just can’t find it again. Thanks very much.

  2. Claire says

    June 22, 2014 at 3:06 am

    Hi Anna,

    I wanted to put a request in for a post if that’s okay! I love your ideas, including your invitations to play. I have a 3 and a half year old and a second baby due in December – and so I’m nervous about how to create a balance between setting up interesting activities for my older child, without him being totally reliant on me for a flow of activities. So I wondered how you handle transitions in your day? Do you set up a series of activities in the morning and encourage your children to go from one to another? Do you create an expectation that they will play independently in between? I do wonder how to best help my child enjoy activities without him becoming reliant on me all day (especially knowing that soon that will be impossible; I fear we may have already fallen into that trap a little and so I have half a year to try to create new habits!). Any light you could shed on how you transition (or let the children transition themselves) between activities would be hugely helpful!

    Thank you!
    Claire

Trackbacks

  1. All that glitters … | myfourboysandme says:
    June 25, 2014 at 6:22 pm

    […] simply awesome..the boys love it…I love it! Drawing inspiration from The Imagination Tree (https://theimaginationtree.com/2014/06/ocean-play-dough-loose-parts.html) we made our own scented glittering play dough this afternoon. However, in lieu of the no cook […]

  2. SCOICI - 10 idei de activitati pentru copii - Stilul meu de viata says:
    July 14, 2014 at 7:01 am

    […] Instrucțiunile le găsiți aici: Ocean Play Dough […]

The Imagination Tree on FacebookThe Imagination Tree on TwitterThe Imagination Tree on PinterestThe Imagination Tree on G+RSS feed from The Imagination TreeThe Imagination Tree straight to your inbox

Search The Imagination Tree

About The Imagination Tree Hello and welcome! I'm Anna, Mama of 4, early years teacher and play enthusiast from the UK! Click here to read more about me.

The Kindness Elves Store
Play Ideas on The Imagination Tree

Create with The Imagination Tree

Makes on The Imagination Tree

Sign up for our FREE emails:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Categories

Archives

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT