Parents can learn a lot about the concept of 'learning through play' when engaging in a play activity themselves. One good activity to exemplify this is to use playdough. The tactile nature of the material encourages adults and children to experiment with it, enjoy the sensation, and learn. Through making and playing with this material, parents can explore their own creativity whilst being guided and encouraged by practitioners to think about colours, shapes, sizes etc.

An essential part of parents' learning in this activity is reflection in the group - practitioners stimulate reflection on what parents experience and encourage understanding of how such activities can be useful for children.

What to do:

During:

While parents in the group each engage with the playdough, you have an opportunity to interact with them and model how they could interact with their child at home. For example talk about the process of making objects and use descriptive language to describe what has been made. Talk about the colours, shapes, size thickness; for example the thickness and shape of the biscuits a parent made, the colour of a ball another parent formed, the number of petals on a flower one parent made etc. Ask questions about what a parent is making, and questions that facilitate extended talk about topics related to the objects the parents are making: E.g. What is your favourite type of biscuit? What do you need to do next to bake the biscuit? How many biscuits do you need to make so that each person in the family gets one?

After:

To support reflection, engage parents in a group discussion after they have engaged with the activity. Questions can focus on their enjoyment of the activity, their own experiences with this activity, and the learning that can take place during the activity. E.g.

-          Did you enjoy this activity? What did you enjoy about this activity?

-          Do you use playdough at home with your child? What are your experiences?

-          How was it different today?

-          Did you notice the language the practitioner was using today? How could this support learning?

-          What kind of learning can be stimulated through this activity?

More ideas:

Extension: To support reflection, play sessions could also be video-taped and shared with parents afterwards to stimulate a discussion about the experiences parents had during the activity, and the learning that can take place in a situation like this. 

Home activity: Parents in the group could also be asked to engage with their children at home with playdough (or other materials that invite active play and exploration) and to share this experience with the group. They could for example take a video of their child playing, take some photos, or share an oral or written story about what happened. Children could be asked to take photos of the objects they made. Parents could be invited to use the forum to post their stories/materials.

Parents could also be asked to use the forum to look at the pictures they posted together with the child, to talk about the objects, and to label them (maybe even in writing, using the different languages they know).

[The Home Start Website offers some really helpful short instructions on how to make and use playdough with children. Click here.]