Modeling is one of the most useful developmental exercises for a child in preschool and primary school age. Despite the fact that a dozen different masses for modeling have been invented today, plasticine remains the most relevant. In its composition, it differs for the better from the one to which many of us are accustomed in distant childhood. Among the large assortment offered for sale by modern brands, Play Doh is especially popular: this material completely safe for the child due to its 100% natural composition, it attracts babies with a bright look.
Balls and sausages
When a child kneads a mass abstractly, there will be no outstanding result from this: this task is not too difficult to develop sufficiently, and also not too interesting to stimulate passion and push to reach new levels. That is why adults who are involved in modeling with a baby should have an idea of what crafts can be molded from this type of plasticine.
In order for the child to always be interested, the tasks assigned to him must correspond to his current level of development.
The very first and simplest exercise for a kid who has just begun to learn modeling is the banal rolling of primitive figures. Someone fears that such an activity will not seem interesting to a small child. However, at the age of 2-4, when the average child begins to be interested in this, he perceives it as a game (especially if the parents tried to choose a mass of rather bright colors).
Although this activity for adults seems very simple, in fact, for this age, it has a pronounced developmental function. Primarily, the child learns the world: it is revealed to him that he can influence the shape and size of some surrounding objects. Certainly improves fine motor skills of hands, which is still underdeveloped in children of this age.
Having slightly diversified the set of figures with cubes and triangles, you can gradually try to teach your child the names of geometric shapes, as well as the names of colors. The kid can be asked to count the figures he has fashioned, which will consolidate his first mathematical skills. Rolling balls and sausages is the first, starting step in the process of learning serious modeling, since most impressively beautiful crafts actually also consist of such simple shapes.
Ready sets
After mastering simple figures, the child needs to be occupied with some more complex and interesting things, otherwise he will quickly lose interest in the lesson. He himself is still not ready to create truly artistic crafts. At this point, Play Doh sets from plasticine and various shapes, designed to simplify the sculpting process, come to the rescue.
An awesome bonus is a wide variety of sets: at least one of them will be in the interests of the baby.
A typical kit consists of the most plastic mass of the necessary shades (we are usually not talking about a full-color set), as well as special devices that do not help to mold anything, but are ideally suited for sculpting a particular craft.
A simple example is an ice cream set, which includes a plastic cone and a special plasticine press. By filling the press with colored plasticine in any order, the child can create very natural ice cream. Unlike completely hand-made crafts, the result will be really similar.
In more expensive sets, you can often find completely plastic additions, while plasticine performs only a certain decorative function. For example, a set may include plastic Disney princesses, who can use a special shape to create dresses.
Such plasticine clothing can be made mechanically in several varieties at once. Girls will especially like this, because every time you can choose again what color the outfit will be. The most expensive Play Do sets sell entire city streets, where you can find a residential building, tower clocks, fire stations, shops and much more.
Experiments with improvised means
If the child's interest in sculpting has not disappeared (or has been re-warmed up with the help of sets) after the simple shapes have been mastered, it is time to accustom the child to more complex operations with the material (for example, to give him an unusual texture). For such experiments, even things completely unintended for this will be quite useful. Children love to create a certain patterned structure on a flat surface of plasticine.
You can even use an ordinary constructor for this. "Lego", parts of which the upper side is equipped with teeth for connection with the rest of the parts (it is these teeth that will leave the desired mark).
Alternatively, you can use beads or even lace: the high softness of the Play Do material allows the material to take on even such impressions.
It is worth for a while to entrust the child with certain kitchen tools for such experiments. For example, a garlic press allows you to make a very beautiful bright straw from plasticine. This is not only interesting, but may also come in handy in the future as hair for a figure of a character. Various cookie cutters are also very successful in performing similar tasks.
It is not worth worrying about the fact that the child will ruin the kitchen tool by staining it with a harmful substance: "Play Do" consists exclusively of natural materials and is more of a somewhat unusual type of dough than plasticine (it is impossible to poison it).
Such a mass is not suitable for foodbut it is easy to clean off the surface of kitchen utensils without leaving any marks on it.
Decorations and food
When the child has learned simple ways to influence the mass for modeling, it is time to turn the acquired knowledge and skills into objects for a certain, albeit toy, purpose. For girls, these exercises usually start by creating simple bracelets - a plasticine sausage wrapped around the arm. A more difficult level is the creation of beads: here adults must help the child string the beads made by him on a string. Another activity is the sculpting of various "food" crafts.
The simplest is vegetables and fruits, in the process of creating which you can learn the names of all this food, and at the same time repeat the names of the shades again. The more difficult task is to create visually more complex food, consisting of pieces of multi-colored plasticine. For example, all kinds of cakes and sweets are a popular theme. Here you can already give free rein to the baby's imagination, it is not forbidden to prompt and show. It is much more interesting to play with your favorite toys if they begin to eat not imaginary food, but visible, albeit not real.
How to make bright and juicy fruit cakes from Play-Doh plasticine, see the next video.
Flat paintings
When the previous task no longer seems difficult, it is time to create real crafts, but for now flat ones (that is, paintings). Any plasticine is theoretically suitable for such creativity.
Experts actively recommend Play-Doh for such activities, since a different kind of plasticine is initially hard, adults must first make it soft. Play Do is initially flexible enough.
In the future, the child will be able to sculpt such pictures on a blank sheet. While he is just studying it is necessary to help his imagination. For this purpose, instead of a blank sheet, pages from the coloring book are used as the basis, as well as any other printed drawings that are made in the form of outlines (without filling with any color). The kid's task is to fill in the empty fields with those shades of plasticine that he considers appropriate.
If everything works out, such a picture will become a real reason for pride, both for the baby himself and for his parents. Such creativity promotes the development of imagination. At first, the child sculpts along the contours that the parents give him, over time he wants to be searched for contours for him at his request. He may become interested in drawing so that he can draw such sketches for himself.
Volumetric figures
If the baby's pictures are good, then it's time to move on to the most difficult level: it's time to start sculpting volumetric figures. Most children usually try to sculpt complex crafts initially. If you teach your baby how to model correctly sequential disclosure in increasing complexity, then this stage should be the last, final. This exercise develops the imagination so well that it can be compared to engineering thought.
To create independently, a child must have a clear example of how someone's ideas are being implemented.
You can choose a common theme (for example, an animal, a hero of your favorite cartoon) and invite a small child to mold such a figure together.
You should search the Internet for instructions that would describe step by step how to mold such a masterpiece. As a rule, the authors explain the work process clearly enough so that even a not very creative person understands the essence of the process and does everything without effort. After the kid, with the help of adults, makes several such figures, one can expect that he will soon begin independent experiments.
For crafts from Play-Doh plasticine, see the next video.
