My west coast brother has informed me that today is "World Playdough Day" and "National Guacamole Day." We both agreed that preschoolers would probably rather eat the Playdough.
Playdough, also known as Play-Doh was originally invented as a cleaner to safely remove coal dust from wall paper. That was in the 1930s. In the 50s it was reworked and introduced to schools as an educational tool. By 1956 it was available to anyone to purchase in various department stores, in boxed sets of various colors.
That's a quick history. I never used Play Doh in the classroom when I was teaching art in the 60s but my children and grandchildren have all enjoyed creating with it. Snakes are a popular item, also small pots and animals. It's a very satisfying material. It feels good to work with, it comes in pretty colors, and, when you've created something that you want to keep, it will dry and harden and you have saved your art work. This is it's advantage over modeling clay.
Of course this ability to dry out can also be a disadvantage. Be careful that, when you put your Play Doh away, you put the lid on the containers very tightly. Of course, if you accidentally end up with a hard lump of Play Doh, you can always try carving it. Or you could crumble it with a hammer (under adult supervision of course) and use the bits to make a mosaic. If thinking about this makes you want to rush out and buy some Play Doh, do it! Have fun and get creative!
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