Play-Doh Activities to do at Home

Play-Doh is a fun, engaging, and cost-effective activity that caregivers can easily use at

home to support their child’s development. Play-Doh offers many therapeutic benefits and can target a wide range of skills commonly addressed in occupational therapy.

One of the primary benefits of Play-Doh is the development of fine motor skills, which

involves the small muscles of the hands and fingers. Strengthening fine motor skills early helps children build independence at home and success in the classroom. In addition to fine motor development, Play-Doh activities can also support:

• Hand and finger strength

• Grasp and pinch patterns

• Bilateral coordination

• Hand-eye coordination

• Attention to task

• Self-regulation

• Sensory exploration

• Pre-writing, scissor, and utensil skills

• Play and creativity

Play-Doh Activities to Try at Home:

• Making letters, numbers, and shapes

• Creating Play-Doh figure by copying a picture

• Placing small items (beads, coins, buttons) into Play-Doh and removing them

• Cutting Play-Doh with scissors

• Cutting and picking up Play-Doh with utensils

• Squeezing Play-Doh using the whole hand

• Rolling Play-Doh into a ball using both hands

• Rolling Play-Doh into a long “snake”

• Pinching a rolled-out snake using fingers

• Pinching off small pieces of Play-Doh

• Rolling small balls between the thumb and index/middle fingers

Encouraging your child to practice these skills outside of therapy helps reinforce what they are learning and supports best outcomes.

For older children or children with stronger hands, Theraputty can be a great alternative to Play-Doh. It provides more resistance and can be used with many of the same activities listed above.

Sources:

https://www.tarqabin.com/index.php/mjhp/article/download/85/109

https://www.theottoolbox.com/fine-motor-activities-with-play-dough/

https://www.theottoolbox.com/benefits-of-play-dough/