Playing with dough is an enjoyable way to build motor skills by strengthening children’s hands and finger dexterity. There are many things they can do using play ‘You may use store-bought jena u may make your own. (See pages 233-237 for a variety of recipes.) Different recipes offer variations of texture and stifness. Use the following activities with students as they play with dough: * Cut the play dough with scissors, + Demonstrate how to flatien a piece of play dough. Begin with your hands. if you have @ rolling pin available, demonstrate how to use it to flatten a piece of play Ifyou do not have a roling pin available, a ful soup can works well. » Experiment squeezing the play dough, + Provide cookie cutters for children to cut shapes in the play dough. Alternatives to cookie cutters include: plastic cups, plastic container lids, plastic knives, and spoons. + Roll small pieces inlo “sngkes" using the palm of one hand and a flat suriace. Provide plastic knives or plastic spoons and allow the children to experiment cutting the rolled * Sgeeze play dough through a garlic press. * Use play dough ‘snakes’ to form letters, numbers, or shapes.