Nursery World - Around the Nursery, Part 4

Dough and other malleable materials have a role to play across the early years curriculum, explains Penny Tassoni

The use of malleable materials needs to be planned for to ensure children enjoy the full range of learning benefits

Malleable materials such as plasticine, modelling clay and especially dough are a staple of early years settings. They are great materials, but unless adults plan and resource this area carefully, there can be a danger of stagnated play.

PLENTY OF OPTIONS

While the default material in many settings is the cooked dough that can keep for weeks, a quick trawl of books and the internet reveals a huge choice. With every dough that a child touches, they are able to explore its different properties, and in some cases its smell. So, it is worth planning to provide a variety, and here are some examples of the many types on offer:

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