I decided to make a bird nest play dough activity because play dough is a staple here in our house, it’s such a beneficial early years resource, I have my own play dough business and the kids quite simply love to get out the dough box! It can be squashed, squeezed, rolled, flattened, chopped, cut, scored, raked, punctured, poked, and shredded! Each of these actions aids fine motor development differently, not to mention hand-eye coordination and general concentration. The RSPB big garden birdwatch is upon us once again, so I decided to make up a bird nest play dough activity to encourage some open-ended play.
The Dough
We dislike the well-known shop-bought stuff in our house. The smell, the plastic tins and the consistency just don’t work for us! It can be pretty simple to make your own so we have included our recipe for basic play dough. If you’re after something a bit more luxurious and don’t have the time or inclination to make the dough, head to my Etsy store here or click the shopping trolley icon on my blog homepage banner.
Investigating how to make a bird’s nest will see them explore the dough by rolling, squeezing, squashing, cutting, poking, and shredding. What a marvellous sensory experience for them!
Bird Nest Play Dough Activity- An Invitation to Play
Setting up an invitation to play tray, either indoors or outdoors is a fab way to get kids to investigate and explore how to put loose parts together to come up with an end creation. Having loose-part dough play can not only extend the play session but can also open up discussions and investigations into counting, ordering, colours and shapes. They always surprise me and mostly take their creations down a path I would have never expected!
This time we used a picky plate that we use to serve snacks at home! After all, it will just wash up and be ready for snack use another day. Alternatively, you could collect glass jars and use them to house some loose parts and store them for another day’s play.
You can use a play tray from Ikea, a tuff tray or simply place everything out on a table, a mud kitchen or on a food tray. The loose parts can simply be scattered around for them to arrange and order whilst creating.
You could go for a different approach and give them the autonomy to work out how they want their invitation to play to look like, by creating it themselves. They could help find bits and bobs from the kitchen, garden, and craft area to make up their own invitation to play.
Please note, you don’t need to go out and purchase something to use as a base for your invitation to play you can simply use what you have in your home.
What is in our Bird Nest Play Dough Activity Tray
- Grass
- Moss
- Flowers
- leaves
- Craft matchsticks
- Twigs
- Mini log slices
- Felt balls
- Feathers
- Shredded paper
Tools
- Garlic press
- Rolling pin
- Clay cutter
- Scissors
What else you could use
- Pinecone
- Pasta Shells
- Straws
- Fabric / netting / ribbons / wool
- Something shiny for a magpie’s nest
Benefits of Dough Play
There are many benefits to sensory dough play, so this activity will tick educational and developmental boxes all whilst being really fun! When they get busy making play dough nests, they’re warming up all those tiny muscles and tendons in their hands. This all helps build on their pencil and scissor control.
Extending the Activity
You could extend this activity by talking about garden birds, going outdoors with binoculars, visiting a reserve, finding bird-themed books and games in the home, making cardboard toilet roll binoculars, or homemade bird feeders to hang in gardens or parks. I often find that the kids steer me towards what they’re interested in and we go from there.
If you’re looking for more bird or play dough-related activities then do check out the ideas below.
Play dough recipes with natural dyes
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