This book is a convenient one-stop shop for parents, grandparents, and everyone who works with children aged 12 months to any age, who want to find out more about the importance of Creative Sensory Play, and why it is something we should all be encouraging from a very earlier age. This book takes the guess work out of finding a recipe that works. No more wasting time, trawling the internet trying to find 'something different' to do with the children or grandchildren. No more irritation discovering that a really interesting looking blog post and recipe just does not work! No more buying small tubs of playdough that cost the earth and dry out quickly, or are too hard for little hands to play with. No, you can make exactly the same things at home for a fraction of the cost of shop bought equivalents. Also, because you make the dough, paint etc., you can vary the consistency easily to make it suitable for your child, or avoid ingredients you are worried may cause an allergic reaction. Some recipes are naturally softer than others, and some are deliberately flaky and harder to 'push together', so are better for older or stronger children. Each recipe comes with information on how to store it (most can be reused several times, and some even keep for months). Every recipe (there are over 40!) in this book has been tried and tested with both large and small groups of children, during my years as an early year's educator, mum and granny! Most of them use ingredients that are easy to source from the local supermarket, or local health food shops (there is a long list of store cupboard necessities to get you started!). None of the recipes are difficult to make, and surprisingly not all of them are messy! Although, as with anything creative, it may be messy and at the end of the book, I give some tips on how to contain this if it really worries you. Great resource for rainy day activities too!
About the Author: Amanda Ralph is a qualified Early Years Teacher, with a background in Montessori pre-school education. She has lived and worked in Hong Kong, Japan, Denmark, Norway and the UK. She is passionate about helping parents understand how children develop and learn, and the importance of play. Amanda has worked in various pre-schools and nurseries both abroad and in the UK, and as an early education and childcare officer for a local authority in the UK. Amanda now lives in the UK and is married and has two grown up children and 2 grandchildren. She currently works as an early years technical writer for Zigzag publications and also gives talks and small training sessions for local playgroups and parent toddler geoups.