Help kids learn about river animals and habitats with this river play dough invitation. Preschoolers will have fun with the sensory elements of the dough and engaging in pretend play. But don’t leave out the older kids, they can model what they learn about river animals and habitats as they build their own river life model.
Materials
- Play dough-We used homemade blue and brown play dough
- Small plants-We gathered ferns from our yard
- Driftwood pieces
- Blue glass gems
- Small pebbles
- River Safari Ltd. Toob
Before setting out this play invitation I’d also recommend reading some picture books about river and river animals. This will encourage kids to make connections between what they’ve learned in the texts and their playtime. Their story telling is likely to be more intricate with more background knowledge too.
Playtime with River Play Dough
When it’s time to play just sit back and watch as kids build their own elaborate river habitats. Tinker put a lot of thought into where each animals was placed, and she tried her best to make little fern canopies to “protect” some of the animals along her river.
This is a picture of her finished habitat. Don’t worry that little otter isn’t dead, he’s just swimming. ๐
Don’t Leave Out the Big Kids
I left this invitation out for the elementary school kids too. It was really interesting to see how they created their river habitat.
I love all the attention to detail…especially the animal footprints.
More Fun with Play Dough
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