Playdough is heaps of fun for young kids to play with. Simple and easy to make, and inexpensive is a plus too!  But what do you do when both you and your kids have run out of ideas for playdough time? Below you will find simple and interesting playdough activities for toddlers to preschoolers to enjoy.  Our homemade playdough recipes are easy to customize to suit your kids’ interests, seasonal themes, or holidays!

The Benefits Of Playdough

Playdough is excellent for many reasons! It is a great sensory tool for hands-on early learning activities like letters, numbers and colors. Playdough is also a great muscle strengthener for little hands getting ready to write. It is relaxing to knead, roll, stretch, flatten, pound and whatever else is fun! It adapts to themes like a charm. Playdough loves to pretend, create, build, imagine and discover. Because of all these great developmental aspects about play dough, I like to pull it out and give it a fun theme twist. Hope you enjoy these fun playdough activities anyone can do!

Our Favorite Playdough Recipes

Sometimes a simple playdough recipe is all you need! But if you want make something different for your kids to play with, here are a few playdough recipes that are fun tor try!

Free Printable Playdough Mat

Download this free playdough activity mat to extend the fun of your playdough-making session. Print and laminate for a fun playdough activity anytime.

Simple Things To Do With Playdough

Have a ball of homemade playdough? (See our favorite no cook playdough recipe!)  Then here are a few playdough activities and playdough games to get you started.

Playdough Math

Add Dice

Turn your playdough into a counting activity and add dice. Roll and place the correct amount of items on rolled out playdough. Use buttons, beads, or small toys for counting.  You could even make it a game and the first one to 20, wins!

Use Number Stamps

Add number playdough stamps and pair with the number of items to practice numbers 1-10 or 1-20.

Sorting Game

Make a sorting activity. Roll out the soft playdough into different circles. Next, mix up the items in a small container. Then, have the kids sort the items by color or size or type to the different playdough shapes using the tweezers!

Big or Small

Challenge kids to create different size playdough balls and put them in the correct order of size!

Fine Motor Practice

Use Tongs

Mix small items into your ball of playdough and add a pair of kid-safe tweezers or tongs for them to find things with.

Scissor Skills

Use kid-safe playdough scissors to practice cutting the playdough into pieces.

Cookie Cutters

Simply using cookie cutters to cut out shapes, which is great for little fingers!

Playdough Building

Set out an assortment of building materials with your playdough for open-ended free play!  Encourage simple engineering and problem solving skills. Add toothpicks and roll up “mini balls” out of the playdough and use them along with the toothpicks to create 2D and 3D structures.

Learn About Colors With Play Dough

Add a few drops of food coloring to small pieces of plain homemade play dough. Mix it through!  Great for little hands!  See more fun color activities!

Fun Theme Playdough Activities To Try

Dinosaur Discovery Table

We included a batch of homemade play dough with our dinosaur theme unit.  Great for making a dinosaur fossil or two!

Dr Seuss Playdough

Turn your playdough into an activity for the book Ten Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss! Challenge your kids to roll up 10 apples out of playdough and stack them 10 apples tall! See more ideas for 10 Apples Up On Top here.

Zoo Theme Playdough

Practice those fine motor skills and find all the zoo items hidden in the playdough!

Star Wars Playdough

Make your own homemade black playdough and put together an open-ended Death Star kit.  Our Star Wars fan had tons of fun with this easy playdough activity!

Playdough Valentines

Add a fun Valentine twist to your playdough activities!  Make a batch of pink playdough and have fun with a few playdough accessories.

Christmas Cookie Cutter Activity

Similar to our zoo theme playdough activity above, practice fine motor skills by making some playdough cookies with Christmas theme cookie cutters, and Christmas sensory items.

Gingerbread Man Play

Make a gingerbread man tray filled with wonderful Christmas scents.  Let your kids have fun baking!

Printable Playdough Mat Activities

Add all of these free playdough mats to your early-learning activities! Print and laminate so you can use again and again!

Bug Playdough Mats

Learn all about insects, and their life cycle with these playdough mats. Make the parts of a bug with playdough.

Pond Life Playdough Mats

These playdough mats are a terrific opportunity to add spring science to your playtime! Explore typical pond life items and build your playdough pond at home! Encourage creativity and let the playdough fun extend past the mats. Roll out a base of blue playdough for a pond and create an entire pond life scene using the mats for inspiration.

Weather Playdough Mats

For a simple weather activity for toddlers, preschoolers or kindergarteners, create the weather from playdough with our free printable weather playdough mats.

Printable Playdough Project Pack

If you want an easy-to-use printable resource for all of your favorite playdough recipes as well as exclusive (only available in this pack) playdough mats, grab our printable Playdough Project Pack!