By: Chelsea, from the YouTube Channel @MommysTrying
Honestly, I just wanted this set for the tools it came with! Before I placed this on my daughter’s Christmas wish list I read reviews that the modeling dough in this set dries out fast so I didn’t really have any high expectations for that.
I asked a friend happened to be in Occupational Therapy Assisting (OTA) school at the time, what type of fine motor skill things can I help my daughter with? One thing he said that stood out to me was that children can actually use scissors by the age of 2! My daughter was around 1.5 when I asked him this question. So, being the optimistic Mom I try to be I secretly wanted to try and introduce this new skill to my daughter before she turned 2.
She hasn’t be able to use scissors yet which of course is totally fine. But, we’ve been using and loving the other pieces of this set and my daughter asks to plays with this almost everyday!
The Kit
This $15 kit rated for children 3 and up includes:
- 2 pattern wheels with wooden handles (one makes circles and the other makes triangular shapes)
- 2 plastic scissors (one regular pair and the other cuts with a zig zag pattern)
- 2 dough cutters (one flower shaped and one star shaped)
- A sculpting tool,
- A rolling pin
- 4 tubs of modeling dough (orange, purple, blue, and yellow colored)
- Each tub holds about 1 ounce of modeling dough
The company advertises this to have 16 pieces all together but it’s because they included the 4 lids that happen to have different molds on them.
The containers are made of thin white plastic so don’t press the lid on too hard or the container will bend. There are also different animal molds on every lid which include: an airplane, a teddy bear, the head of a tiger, and the head of an elephant (looking at the picture from left to right).
The Modeling Dough Itself
When you first start playing with this set you’ll notice the modeling dough that comes is extremely soft. Soft to the point where it’s almost difficult to play with and you have to make a conscious effort to make sure you don’t get any trapped under your fingernails.
This extreme texture lasts for less than 3 months. I tested this out on one tub by deliberating only opening and having my daughter play with one color to see just how long it’ll last.
Dry Modeling Dough
Actually, before I bought this kit I read a lot of reviews that parents were unhappy at how quickly the dough dried out. So, I happened to call the M&D customer service line and asked if they had any recommendations on the best way to rehydrate their modeling dough.
I’m sure they thought this was one of the more ridiculous questions a parents has called to ask but I wanted to see what the company offered and you’ll never know an answer to a question unless you ask it! So, they suggested for me to mix a little water into the dough and see if that’ll work. And it actually does! For about 6 days. Then it starts to dry up again. So, if you wanted to keep the dough from this set as long as possible that could be an option for you.
Once the modeling dough has dried a little bit (maybe after 2-3 weeks if you play with the set everyday) but still has that classic “Play Doh” texture we’re all used to handling, you do get a thin dry film of it over your fingernails. I don’t remember if the actual name brand “Play Doh” does this same thing but just make sure to wash your hands after playing with this.
There could be another purpose for this dough
I also like to use this to improve my child’s grip strength. As silly as that may sound, it’s one great way to build the strength of your child’s hand and forearm muscles to help them feel comfortable feeding themselves, holding a pencil, or to just play and take their own toys apart independently. All those little things add up to help them do things once they get older.
For example, my daughter’s right hand is much stronger than her left and that seems to be the side she prefers to hold a writing and eating utensil with.
I usually shape two small pieces of dough of the same size and let my daughter squeeze each one in her hand as hard as she can at the same time. She thinks this is the silliest game but it’s the most direct of way of strengthening her grip. Once she drops the dough you can clearly see which hand is stronger by looking at the shape and indents on the dough.
Other Parts of the Kit
The scissors are a little bigger than I expected but it’s probably because my almost 2 year old’s hands are so small and her hands just don’t fit into these particular scissors yet.
You can play on the tray the kit came in but you’ll just be keeping your arms up the entire time. It doesn’t come with a lid so you just gotta keep everything in this bin.
My daughter has been playing with this set for almost 4 months now and everything has held up very well, no nicks on anything.
We always play with this on a white table where it leaves that typical Play Doh residue that can be easily cleaned off with a baby safe multi surface cleaner. There has been no color staining on the table either. The only close thing I’ve seen to color staining is when I added some water (1-4 drops of water) into the dough to rehydrate it, some of the color was running down when it initially got wet. So, make sure you do this in the sink.
All in all, this is a great introductory kit with children with small hands since it has the right amount of modeling dough and enough tools to keep your little one entertained. If your child is a little older M&D also makes a kit with more tools for $18.