On a knead-to-know basis!


Kneading, mixing and rolling can help with motor control, while also being enjoyable and satisfying activities! Making damper bread cooked over a fire is a simple and easy activity to incorporate these movements. All you need to do is:


1. Mix 500g of self-raising flour with 300–500ml of water 2. Knead into a dough


3. Divide the dough into twelve portions. Encourage the children to roll their dough into a snake and wrap it around a cooking stick


4. Let the children hold their bread snake above the fire and watch it cook. It will be ready in about 5–10 minutes or when golden brown


5. Spread the damper bread with jam or dip it in honey. Eat and enjoy! 3 Keep in touch


Following simple pathways is an enjoyable and effective way to develop the hand-eye coordination that is crucial for writing development.


There are many ways to practise this skill without introducing specific writing tools:


Try drawing patterns in sand that children can draw over using sticks


What you’ll need


• 802068 Feels-Write Pre-Writing Stones


• Use suggested items – the more varied, the better


• 800944 Feels Write Letter Stones


Draw chalk patterns on outdoor surfaces that the children can wash away with a wet mop or broom


Use toy vehicles to make patterns in mud, sand or paint the wheels so they leave patterns on long strips of lining paper.


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4 Shop Little Learners products and more at ypo.co.uk/earlyyears 15


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Press and print


Playdough is perfect for developing a sense of the varying amounts of pressure that a child can exert. As well as being rolled, modelled, pressed and pulled, playdough makes a perfect base for pattern-making and imprints.


Use large pieces of playdough to create repeating patterns or join different textured strips to create sequences of imprints. Encourage children to gently trace over their art with a finger to really ‘feel’ their creations. As long as they have some texture, almost any object is viable.


What you’ll need


• 742752 Playdough • Everyday objects to make patterns


• 450230 Let’s Investigate Bugs • 810465 Let’s Investigate Dinosaur Footprints


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What you’ll need


• Mixing bowl • Wooden spoon • Self-raising flour (500g) • Water (300-500ml) • Clean sticks • Jam and/or honey • 427309 Sensory Play Stones - Breads of the World


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