Simple Science and STEM for Every Day

17+ Playdough Activities For Kids

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!

FUN PLAYDOUGH ACTIVITIES FOR EARLY LEARNING

HOMEMADE 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!

THINGS TO DO WITH PLAYDOUGH

  1.  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!
  2.  Add number playdough stamps and pair with the items to practice numbers 1-10 or 1-20.
  3. Mix small items into your ball of playdough and add a pair of kid-safe tweezers or tongs for them to find things with.
  4. 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!
  5. Use kid-safe playdough scissors to practice cutting their playdough into pieces.
  6. Simply using cookie cutters to cut out shapes, which is great for little fingers!
  7. Turn your playdough into a STEM 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.
  8. Challenge kids to create different size playdough balls and put them in the correct order of size!
  9. Add toothpicks and roll up “mini balls” out of the playdough and use them along with the toothpicks to create 2D and 3D.

MORE FUN PLAYDOUGH ACTIVITIES

 10. Playdough Building

Set out an assortment of building materials with your playdough for open-ended free play!  Encourage engineering and problem solving skills. Building Activity Engineering with Play Dough And Loose Parts

11. Learn About Colors With Play Dough

Mix colors through small pieces of plain homemade play dough.  Great for little hands! play dough coloring

12. Dinosaur Discovery Table

We included a batch of homemade play dough with our dinosaur theme unit.  Great for making a dinosaur fossil or two! Dinosaur Discovery Table Explore Discover Play With Dinosaurs

13. Monster Playdough

Put together a simple Halloween activity with this monster making play dough tray. Monster Making Halloween Playdough Tray

14. Alphabet Playdough

Set up a tray of alphabet letters for open-ended play with playdough that involves learning as well. alphabet playdough activity tray

15. Zoo Theme Playdough

Practise those fine motor skills and find all the zoo items hidden in the playdough.

16. Gingerbread Man Play

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

17. Christmas Cookie Cutter Activity

Similar to our zoo theme playdough activity above, practise fine motor skills with some playdough cookies and  Christmas sensory items. Christmas Play Dough Fine Motor Play

18. Playdough Valentines

Enjoy a fun Valentine twist to your playdough activities!  Make a batch of pink playdough and have fun with a few playdough accessories. Valentines Play Dough Sensory Play Invitation

19. Star Wars Playdough

Make your own homemade black playdough and put together an open-ended Death Star kit.  Our Star Wars fan had tonnes of fun with this playdough activity! Star Wars Play Dough Kit for Kids Build A Death Star

OUR FAVORITE PLAYDOUGH RECIPES

FUN PLAYDOUGH ACTIVITIES ARE A HUGE HIT WITH KIDS!

Check out more fun ways to enjoy  sensory play at home or in the classroom.

Sensory play ideas for kids.