Do you have little ones who love playdough? If so, we’ve got the perfect printable play dough mats for kids! These mats are perfect for toddlers, preschoolers, pre-k aged kids, and kindergarteners. They are a great way to practice counting, letter recognition, and more. Plus, they are just plain fun!
To use these playdough mats, simply print them out, give your child some play dough, and let them play! Hands on learning fun for the win!
Jump to Play Dough Mats List
What is the Best Way to Store Playdough and Playdough Mats?
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We recommend storing playdough and playdough mats in an airtight container. This will help keep the playdough fresh and prevent it from drying out. We also recommend using a laminator to laminate the playdough mats or using write and wipe pockets during play. This will make them more durable and extend their lifespan. Our favorite tools for playdough storage are:
- Latchmate Box for holding playdough and manipulatives
- IKEA Glis Box for individual playdough activities
- Small Plastic Containers to store batches of homemade playdough
Materials Needed to Create a Play Doh Mats Home Resource Library:
- Playdough Mats Printables (see list below)
- Medium Letter File Box or Binder for Printed PDF Playdough Mats
- Task Boxes
- Sensory Trays
- Playdough
- Playdough Manipulatives
Best Homemade Playdough Recipes:
If you are looking for the best playdough recipe to use with your playdough mats, we’ve got you covered! We have tested and tried many play dough recipes and these are our favorites.
Easy Playdough Recipe
Our most trusted and favorite classic play dough recipe!
How to Make Playdough Without Flour
Learn this simple trick for making play dough at home without flour!
What are the Benefits of Play Dough?
Play dough is a great way to encourage fine motor skills, creativity, and imagination. It is also a great sensory play activity for kids of all ages. You can read all about the developmental benefits and sensory benefits of playdough here. Playdough mats truly are a fantastic tool to have in your homeschool or classroom.
In the list of playdough mats below, you’ll find several ways to teach various skills to your child. The following are examples of some of the skills worked on in a fun way using these playdough mats:
- Literacy skills such as:
- alphabet knowledge
- letter recognition
- letter sounds
- Uppercase and lowercase Letter formation
- sight words
- Math skills such as:
- counting
- one-to-one correspondence
- number recognition
- number formation
- number word writing
- shapes
- Science skills such as:
- communicating
- observing
- predicting
- sorting and classifying
And so much more!
Tips for Making Play Dough Mats a Fun Learning Activity for Kids
Here are some tips for parents and educators to make the most out of play dough mats:
Encourage children to use their imaginations and creativity:
- Play dough mats provide a great opportunity for children to unleash their imagination and creativity. Encourage children to come up with their own ideas and designs, rather than just following the outlines on the mats.
Use play dough mats as a social activity:
- Play dough mats can be used as a social activity for children to engage with each other and share their ideas. Encourage children to work together to create a shared design or challenge them to create individual designs and share with the group.
Model different ideas and techniques for using the play dough:
- Show children different ways to use the play dough, such as rolling it into balls, flattening it with a rolling pin, or making long ropes to shape into different objects. Modeling different techniques can help children explore different ways to use the play dough and encourage their creativity.
Provide a variety of play dough mats:
- Provide a variety of play dough mats, such as alphabet, number, shape, animal, food, nature, and vehicle mats, to keep children engaged and interested in the activity.
Use play dough mats as a sensory tool:
- Play dough is a great sensory tool that can help children develop their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Encourage children to touch and manipulate the play dough as they create shapes and objects on the mats.
What Can You Add to Playdough to Make It More Fun?
Playdough mats of course! Some of favorite playdough toys to use with play dough mats are:
| Fake Flowers | Cookie Cutters | Mini Erasers |
| Pipe Cleaners | Beads | Buttons |
| Strainer | Blocks | Tooth Picks |
| Mr. Potato Head Pieces | Q-Tips | Comb |
| Plastic Animals | Straws | Cups/Bowls |
| Garlic Masher | Kids Silverware | Wine Corks |
| Bottle Tops | Shells | Twigs/Stones |
| Googly Eyes | Pom Poms | Pine Cones |
| Legos | Melon Baller | Matchbox Cars |
| Stamps | Kid Safe Scissors | Dough Rolling Pins |
| Plastic Eggs | Plastic Gems | Cake Candles |
Printable Play Dough Mats
These printable play dough mats are a great way to keep your kids entertained and engaged!
Roar into Playtime with These Dinosaur Playdough Mats
Looking for a fun and educational activity for your little ones? Check out our dinosaur playdough mats! Featuring 12 different dinosaur species with accompanying facts and footprints, as well as mats for the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods, these mats provide a great way to combine creativity with learning.
Zoo Playdough Mats
If your children love animals, these zoo playdough mats are a great activity for them. They promote a number of learning concepts necessary for pre-k and kindergarten. There are so many ways to play while learning with this bundle, your students will NEVER get bored!
Printable Alphabet Road Letters
Learning letter formation is easy with these ABC Letter Roads. The colorful, printable packet includes colored sheets of upper and lowercase letters for hours of entertainment. Use with miniature cars, play dough, wiki sticks, and more!
2D Shapes Playdough Mats
These fine motor 2D Shapes play dough task cards make learning fun! Kids use different colors of play dough to create a variety of different 2D shapes.
Printable Dinosaur Playdough Task Cards
These Dinosaur Playdough Mats are fun educational toy for preschoolers and kindergarteners. The playdough mats can be used in the classroom, at home, or on the go. They are a great way to learn about dinosaurs!
Printable Emotions Playdough Mats and Task Cards
These emotions play dough mats are designed to help kids identify big emotions while facilitating conversations around what they are experiencing.Â
Using these playdough mats children identify the emotion shown, make it out of play dough, and then talk about it following the prompt provided at the bottom of each mat.
Printable Human Body Playdough Mats
These printable human body playdough mats let kids have fun while learning about anatomy while exploring the different parts of the body. They're perfect for rainy days, summer break, or anytime you want a little educational fun.
Printable Play Dough Number Mats: Counting 0-10
These 0-10 number playdough mats are an easy to prep number activity that is perfect for kids. They come with tens frame, number line, number words, and more.Â
Alphabet Play Dough Mats (with Free Printable Included)
These Alphabet Playdough Mats are the perfect printable activity for teaching beginning sounds, letter formation, and phonemic awareness. These playful mats are a great way to help your child learn their letters and get ready for reading!
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