This was such an easy transformation that I only snapped on process picture to show how it’s done!
I just squeezed the paint onto the donut and smeared it with my finger to get even coverage. I used alternating colors for pretend sprinkles too 🙂 While I waited for the donuts to dry, I made a cute little donut shop vignette. I just use whatever materials I already have around the house. Baskets and trays get lots of use around here!
You may also notice some accessories I added to the play scene: Donut “holes” (pom poms), color cards, and a yellow scooper (from this fantastic fine motor set!).
I played with my oldest son Cannon first. He LOVED it. We started with the donut homes, which he decided needed to fill in the actual donut holes!
If you’re looking to incorporate math into this pretend play activity, you could estimate the number if donut holes it would take to fill the center of each donut, color math donut holes to donuts, order the donuts from smallest to largest, etc. We just stuck with pretend play this time.
As a bonus accessory, I used the puffy paint to make “color cards”. To make them I put a splotch of paint onto each card and wrote the colors beneath it (we love increasing our exposure to print!) These were a fun way to “order” certain donuts!
It was a thrill for him to play pretend. I could seriously post a dozen more pictures! Even little brother joined in after naptime!
