Fairy Potions Playdough Invitation

As we delve deeper into play here about fairy tales, we've been enjoying a stack of great children's literature from our library and own collection. It's been so much fun for the boys and I to read many versions of stories we are familiar with. One book from our own collection caught S's attention, and that was our copy of Tracy Kane's Fairy Houses. What are fairy tales, after all, without the fairies? Some adults might feel hesitant to encourage play and wonder about fairies and other mythical creatures, while others really embrace it. I, ever curious to see where children stand, often ask them if they think certain things in books (like fairies) are real. S says he knows that fairies are made up. He also loves to play about them with loose parts and small world objects and he and Y both planted some wheat grass seeds with me yesterday to grow our own fairy gardens.

We are itching to get back to gardening here and Spring is indeed just around the corner. The use of real flowers for exploration and creation during the warmer months is something that inspires our play both indoors and outside. But with "recycled" cut options or dried versions, petal play is not something that needs to wait until Summer rolls around! Bringing bits of nature indoors is one of my favorite ways to bide our indoor time during the colder season. Additionally, some of our favorite art and sensory activities needed some revamping! Playdough is always a favorite and oft requested activity in this house, so as I set out to plan a collection of Fairy Potion themed play and art activities, I decided this Fairy Potions Playdough Invitation would be the perfect activity to introduce our Fairy Potions Creation Station. 

Playdough is a great sensory experience all on its own. I often prepare our homemade playdough in advance (sometimes with help from the boys) and add in color, scent, glitter or whatever else we may be feeling at the time. Sometimes, it's lovely just to leave it in its natural state and let the kids add in components through play and exploration. In this set up, I included a glass bottle of dried lavender buds, some mortar & pestle sets for grinding and crushing, a couple of spoons for scooping and transfering and some small cookie cutters. I also set each boys' space with a wooden bowl with a ball of playdough and their two favorite clay play tools, a plastic knife and rolling pin. I did not give anyone specific instructions on what to do with the materials and wanted really to see where they took the activity.

S actually asked about everything and what it was for (which caught me a bit off guard), so I did give some ideas about crushing lavender buds or adding them to the dough, but left it very open ended and told him he could really choose how to use the materials and what to make. He first gravitated toward the playdough on its own and rolling out small cookies. Y gravitated toward pouring and transferring lavender buds and then explored crushing and grinding them with the mortar and pestle. He began to scoop some with the small spoon into his playdough bowl and later moved to pouring from the glass bottle. He loved the way he could shake the bottle and small amounts of lavender buds would come out of the small opening. Meanwhile, S decided to pretend the lavender buds were sprinkles. He poured a small amount into his hand and meticulously sprinkled a few atop some--but not all (he wanted to leave some "plain")--of his cookies.

One of the topics that frequently comes to fruition for me as a play at home mom who loves art and sensory play is the issue of waste. So many activities are "disposable." Set aside the issue of food ingredients and food waste (that's a topic I have grappled with and touched  on) and still I struggle with activities I call "once and done" activities. I love that even though the addition of flowers to homemade playdough can shorten its shelf life a bit (less so with dried versions than fresh), that it adds an element of texture, scent and nature to the play experience. Additionally, when children have a hand in creating the materials they use for play and art, they tend to treat them with a greater respect and reverence. The boys were extra careful to pick up fallen dough and collect every last lavender bud from the table. These materials, real and natural, were so very precious to them!

A note on the materials used: There are great benefits to honoring children's perception of beauty in "real" materials and tools rather than always opting for "kid" versions of playdoughs, tools, art supplies, etc. Similarly, setting a table with glass bottles and wooden dishes and silver trays is not only visually appealing to the adults in this room, the children also have a great appreciation for the warmth of it. They feel more invited to the space than they do necessarily when I set out brightly colored plastic trays and store-bought playdough. Don't get me wrong--my kids love playdough in any color or form! They have plenty of brightly colored manufactured toys and playthings meant for children. They also have a sense of sacredness associated with "grown up" things and objects of beauty. All children do! And they love to have access to such things in their own environment. I would not necessarily set out something fragile (like the glass bottle) and expect a child Y's age to automatically know how to handle it. But through the opportunity and experience to use such things, he does learn how to do so. When we only give children materials that are plastic and/or disposable, they don't learn how to safely handle the "real" thing and they also gain a sense that all objects are plastic and disposable and thereby lack a sense of reverence for things that are less easily replaceable.

The boys loved having a hand in making this Fairy Flower Playdough Potion. The act of kneading, grinding, smashing and even the lavender scent itself are all such great stress relievers for the adults as well! It will be such fun to play with in a variety of other ways in the days to come--perhaps with some other fun loose parts and maybe even some fairies.. We will be returning to our Fairy Potions Creation Station  in the weeks to come for some more play, art and sensory activities. We may even be exploring some in our sensory table and outdoors. Stay tuned and until then...

Happy Playing!