Play dough is a great way to keep little hands busy no matter what, but if you want to add an extra element of fun, make it spiky… by designing little “porcupines”!

I cut paper straws into small pieces for this activity. You could also use craft sticks but I liked that I could vary the length of the straws. Some pieces were short and stubby and some were longer.

Of course Veronika has no actual idea of what a porcupine is, but she sure does know that pushing straws into blobs of play dough was good fun!

I demonstrated first, and she took right to it.

Pulling them out was its own challenge, since the straws will stick a little. A good way to work those little muscles!

She grew momentarily confused at one point when there was no where else to stick a straw in this play dough blob.

Phew! I presented her with a new ball of play dough just in time!

The game can easily continue with no more variation than this, but chances are it will turn into more free-form play dough play. Perfect for when big siblings are busy doing school work online!