This simple twist on playdough play turns your toddler into a mini archaeologist!

Veronika has wanted to play with playdough every morning this week, so today I wanted to make it a little different. I took the loose change from my wallet (a mix of pennies, dimes, and nickles) and “buried” them in pieces of play dough. I made sure she saw so she knew that “treasure” was waiting for her, although you could also keep it a surprise.

I then pulled out a variety of playdough tools, including plastic knives, forks, chisels, and spatulas. The challenge was up to her to see if she could dig to the coins!

She immediately was into the game, testing the different tools to see which worked best. Or sometimes she just used her fingers!

We tried burying the money in different ways, too, sometimes balled up in the middle, sometimes stuck in like little quills that she could pull out. “Help, help!” she pretended the little pennies were crying.

This was a great game for imagination and fine motor skills, and kept her so busy for over half an hour!