Ask my daughter to help water the plants, and she will literally jump up so fast to run and get the watering spray. (If only getting her to brush her teeth was that easy!) She loooves to 'help' water them (most of the water ends up on the table or the floor) and she loves to 'help' dust them too (leaves mostly end up broken, bent or pulled off - sometimes all three). I'm not sure if the plants even end up getting watered, but I love the excitement she shows wanting to help look after them.
Watching her show so much excitement towards caring for plants, inspired by me to create this fun and simple play idea where she could 'grow' her own little garden.
I made printouts of different shaped flowers that she decorated with whatever she wanted, and then I encouraged her to practise her scissor-cutting skills and try to cut them out herself. 
We did this activity over a few days; on the first day, we used paints, colour pencils and markers. The next time we did it, we thought it would be fun to cover the flowers with play dough!
We used toothpicks and rollers on the dough to create different textures and patterns, then we left them out to dry overnight, just to see what happens.
The next day, we glued the flowers on popsicle sticks and re-used an old egg carton tray (which I cut small holes in) so she could stick the flower 'stems' into and pretend to water them in her garden.
This simple play idea kept her entertained for the whole afternoon! She had so much fun rearranging the flowers, taking them in and out and also using her watering can from our Terrace Play Set to water the flowers. Best thing is, in this garden, the plants won't ever get over watered!
This activity is another you can use play dough in a different way, and is great for kids of all ages!
Give it a try the next time you're looking for a new activity to keep the kids busy. Click the button below to download and save the printout. Don't forget to tag us @ourlittletreasures.sg on Facebook or Instagram to show us your play!
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