Flower ‘n’ Spice Play Dough Mandalas

Flowers ‘n’ spice and everything nice went into these lovely little mandalas!

“What’s a mandala Ms. Angela?” was the immediate question I received after telling the kids what would be making together. While showing the kids a mandala coloring sheet I brought in for them, I explained that a mandala is a circle with a center.  It has patterns.  ”As you work on a mandala,” I explained, “you become calm and reflect on the beautiful parts inside yourself.”

Inspiration for this project came directly from Nuture Store’s wonderful post about Play Dough Rangoli Mandalas.  The instant I saw these mandalas I knew I would have to make them (with an herbal flare) at the preschool as part of our unit on Mindful Self Care.

Materials ~

• Play Dough (To enhance relaxation during this project I made play dough scented with lavender essential oil and colored lightly with beet powder.)
• Lids of some sort ~ like the lids from yogurt containers or jars
• Pretty botanicals to design with ~ we used baby rose buds, hawthorn berries, star anise and tiny fragrant cardamom seeds.

Directions ~

• Set up your materials on a table.  I laid out the botanicals on a paint palate and put lids in the center of the table.
• Give the children a brief age-appropriate description of a mandala.
• Have each child choose a lid and write their name on the bottom.
• Give them some play dough to press into their lid.  Remind them that a mandala is a circle and to press their play dough up to the edges of the lid.  You might need to help really little kids.
• Then let them design!  You might want to tell the children to press the herbs into the play dough so the herbs will stick.
• On a separate table, if you wish set up coloring materials and mandala coloring sheets for the children to enjoy as well.  A quick search online will give you lots of mandala coloring sheet to choose from.

Our finished mandalas smelled amazing!  Some of the children really got into this project.  I could see and feel their minds and bodies relaxing as they carefully pressed each plant into their play dough.  They would pick up a plant, smell it taking a deep breath and then place it in the perfect spot on their play dough canvas.

More Mindful Self Care For Children ~

Meditation Friends

An Aromatic State Of Mind

More Play Dough Fun ~

Herbal Play Dough

A Happy First Day of Preschool With Calming Aromatherapy

Cinnamon Day ~ Herbs For Kids ~

Rose and Chocolate Play Dough

Shared On:  Eco-Kids Tuesday, The Kid’s Co-op, It’s Playtime, Kids Get Crafty