I’d like to include some play dough music activities with students…like these treble clef play dough worksheets. But I don’t want their parents (or the music store) upset because there’s dough in the carpet. 🙂
This post may contain affiliate links, banners, &/or embeds. If you make a purchase through one of these links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you (more info here). I try to mark most in-text links with an asterisk. Thank you for your support!
My mom was cleaning out some old board games, & I snagged a few Monopoly boards (because, of course).
Here’s how it works: students are sent home with the board & all they need for these activities. But – this part is very important – students are given strict instructions that the dough must remain on the mat.
(Hint: try to make it instructions positive actions – “keep the dough on the mat” – than a negative one – “don’t take the dough off the mat.” I’ve heard that sometimes students might only hear/process the “take the dough off the mat” part if you use the latter. Hopefully this makes your job a little easier!)
Are you ready to see how I made mine?
Check out a highlight video on the @fischarperjr IGTV channel too!
SUPPLIES
- game board
- solid contact paper
- scissors
- transparency film (or you can use a page protector)
- duct tape or packing tape
- empty gift card
- hook & loop tape
- container/pencil box
- material to make handles
- glue (I used FabriTac)
- optional: “property of” label
Assembly
- Clean the game board.
- Add the handles.
- Measure & cut contact paper.
- Apply contact paper, smoothing with empty gift card as you go if necessary
- If the contact paper was a little too small, add some duct tape around the edge(s).
- Position the transparency film on the board. Remember that the board will fold up.
- Tape 3 sides of the transparency film, leaving one side open to insert & remove worksheets or instructions. If you need to, cut a little notch out of the tape so the entire edge of the transparency is free.
- If the game board has a label on the outside, cover it with matching contact paper.
- Secure the edges of the contact paper with duct tape.
- With the hook & loop closure fastened, cut two strips. Adhere them to the board (make sure they’ll fit on the container). With the sticky exposed, place the pencil box on the hook & loop closure. I put the softer side on the box & the rougher side on the board.
- If you have trouble getting the paper under the transparency (like I did), lift one side of the duct tape & add a small strip of tape or contact paper to make the opening a little bigger. Or you could tape down a page protector instead of a transparency sheet.
- Optional: Add a “property of” sticker.
- Assemble a kit that includes the board & one container of play dough. I had a student try it with Silly Putty, & it worked great!
To Use
- Insert the worksheet or instructions under the transparency before the students takes the kit home.
- Give the student instruction for the activity (i.e. the dough/putty stays on the mat, only get the activity out with a parent’s supervision, etc.)
- Student should repeat these expectations back to you or be able to answer questions about them.
- Try the activity at the student’s lesson to make sure he/she has the hang of it.
- Student checks out activity & returns it at next lesson.
- Make sure to mention it to student’s parent so everyone is in the loop. 🙂
OR you can use it as an activity to break up lesson time, for a brain break, for an end-of-lesson activity, etc..
If a parent really doesn’t want the student to have play dough at home, it can be an outside activity or even just done at lessons.
I recommend only using one container/color of dough or putty at a time. One reason: you’re less likely to end up with a shade of brown from mixing. 🙂
How do you reinforce lessons away from the instrument?
If you make this, please share it on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or in the comments below! I’d love to see your spin on it!
-Barbara
P.S. In the example, I used an activity similar to these…would you like to see more play dough activity sheets? Let me know in the comments!
Barbara Fischer runs Fischarper, LLC and loves her job as a harpist and private music educator. She enjoys blogging about various aspects of the music field on fischarper.com/blog. For more music resources, check out the Fischarper store. Find out where you can find Barbara on the interwebs here. And you can sign up to receive Fischarper updates by joining the email list.