17 Playdough Crafts and Printables for Kids

Do you enjoy doing playdough crafts with your kids? Crafting with Play-Doh is a fun way to stimulate creativity in young children. Parents can use Play-Doh to create fun shapes, sculptures, and animals and also use printable mats to help guide their children’s creative process. 

Playdough has been a beloved part of childhood playtime for generations, and here at 24 Hour Family, we have lots of fun Play-Doh crafts, Play-Doh mats, and hands-on activities for kids.

Ideas for Playdough Activities

It is not only an incredibly fun way to pass the time, but with so many different ways to play, it’s no wonder that Play-Doh crafts and printable mats have become increasingly popular. Let’s explore what these crafts are all about and how you can get started. 

What can you make with Playdough?

Our favorite things to make with play dough are making a homemade Play-Doh volcano, making pretend play food items such as pizza or ice cream, and making your favorite character such as Mickey Mouse shaped play dough.  Play-doh crafts are a great way for kids of all ages to get creative with their play.

From making simple shapes to creating intricate scenes, there’s no limit to what can be made with Play-Doh and a few fun tools. This fosters creativity in children and helps them develop fine motor skills as they use their hands to manipulate the clay into shapes. These crafts can be done anywhere—at home, in the classroom, or on vacation.

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Educational Playdough Activities

From improving fine motor skills to promoting creative thinking, Play-Doh crafts and printable mats are fantastic ways to keep kids entertained while helping them learn and grow.

 

If you’re looking for some inspiration to get started with Play-Doh crafts, here are 16 Printable Shapes Play Dough Mats for Preschoolers that are perfect for preschoolers.

One fun playdough activity is Making a Play-Doh Volcano. Simply mold the Play-Doh into the shape of a volcano, then create a small crater at the top. Add some red or orange Play-Doh to simulate lava flowing down the sides. This activity is fun and educational, as it teaches kids about volcanoes and how they work.

Another fun playdough activity is creating Edible Mickey Mouse Play-Dough. Mix white frosting, cornstarch, and a little bit of salt to create a delicious and moldable homemade playdough recipe. Kids can then shape the dough into their favorite Disney character and enjoy a tasty treat afterward.

This fun homemade lemon playdough for kids is a great way to engage your child’s senses while fostering creativity. Mixing lemon frosting, sprinkles, and cornstarch allows you to create a soft and fragrant playdough that your child will love to mold and shape. This activity helps with sensory development and provides a fun and engaging way for kids to explore different scents and textures.

This fun Crayon Playdough Recipe is perfect for creating vibrant and colorful crafts. By melting crayons and mixing them with flour, salt, cream of tartar, water, and oil, you can create a unique playdough that will inspire creativity in your child. They can use this colorful dough to create their masterpieces or follow along with printable mats for guidance.

Camping Play-Doh Mats for Preschoolers is a great way to bring the outdoors inside. Create a campfire, tent, and forest scene using playdough and these printable mats. This activity encourages imaginative play and storytelling as kids create their camping adventures.

Spring Playdough Mats are a fun way to celebrate the changing seasons. You can create flowers, butterflies, and other spring-themed shapes with playdough and these printable mats. This activity allows kids to get creative and helps them learn about the natural world around them.

This Homemade Jello Playdough Recipe is a fun twist on traditional playdough. By mixing flour, salt, cream of tartar, oil, lukewarm water, and Jello powder, you can create a colorful and sweet-smelling dough that kids will love to play with. This activity engages the senses and provides a unique sensory experience for children. Shape into a ball of playdough and enjoy hours of fun molding and shaping the colorful dough.

No Cook Glow in the Dark Playdough is an exciting activity for kids. By mixing flour, salt, cream of tartar, oil, water, and glow-in-the-dark paint or powder, you can create a unique playdough that glows in the dark. Kids can have fun molding shapes and creations that light up in the dark, providing a fun sensory experience.

This free printable Dolphin Playdough Mat is a great way to combine creativity and learning. Kids can use playdough to create dolphin and ocean scenes while learning about marine animals and habitats. This activity encourages imaginative play and helps kids develop fine motor skills as they mold and shape the dough.

Toothpicks and Shapes Playdough cards are a creative way to incorporate fine motor skills into playdough crafts. Kids can use toothpicks to create shapes and designs on printable cards, encouraging precision and creativity. This activity helps children develop hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness while having fun with playdough.

Another fun playdough activity idea is to make Gluten-free playdough, which is a great alternative for children with gluten sensitivities. By using gluten-free flour, salt, cream of tartar, oil, and water, you can create safe and enjoyable playdough for kids to play with. This activity allows children with dietary restrictions to still participate in the fun of creating and molding their playdough crafts.

This Edible Playdough Recipe using frosting is a favorite play dough activity for kids and adds a fun and tasty twist to traditional playdough. Mixing powdered sugar, frosting, and food coloring allows you to create a delicious and colorful dough that kids can enjoy playing with and eating. This activity is perfect for sensory exploration and allows kids to engage their senses uniquely.

Free Printable Space Playdough Mats are perfect for toddler playtime to spark imagination and creativity in kids. With these mats, children can create their space-themed scenes using playdough. From planets to rockets, these printable mats provide a fun and interactive way for kids to explore the wonders of outer space while engaging in sensory play.

Busy toddler activities like printable numbers playdough mats are a great way to introduce learning numbers while having fun with playdough. With these mats, kids can practice counting and number recognition by creating the corresponding number of playdough shapes.

Easter Peeps playdough recipe is a festive playdough activity for kids during the Easter season. Mixing playdough ingredients with crushed-up Peeps marshmallows allows you to create a colorful and sweet-smelling dough that kids will love to play with. This activity allows children to get creative with their Easter-themed creations while enjoying the sensory experience of playing with the soft and squishy playdough.

Apple-scented playdough is a fun and fragrant playdough recipe that kids will love. By mixing flour, salt, cream of tartar, oil, water, and apple-scented oil or extract, you can create a deliciously scented dough for little ones to play with. This activity engages the senses and provides a unique sensory experience for children as they mold and shape the dough into different creations.

Playdough crafts are perfect for toddler playtime, engaging children in sensory play and fostering creativity. Whether you’re making homemade Jello playdough, glow-in-the-dark playdough, or edible frosting playdough, this versatile material offers endless possibilities for fun and learning. Incorporating printable mats and themed activities can further enhance the play.

What Sensory Activities can you do with Playdough?

Sensory activities with Play-Doh include developing fine motor skills by squeezing, rolling, and cutting the dough. Molding play dough into shapes encourages creativity and problem-solving.

Adding different colors or textures to the play dough creates an engaging tactile experience. Using scents like peppermint or lemon can add an olfactory element and make it more fun for children to explore their senses through Play-Doh.

Play Dough Crafts for Kids of All Ages

One of the great things about crafting with play dough is that it’s a great activity for kids of all ages. For younger toddlers aged 2-3, parents can help guide their little ones as they make basic shapes like stars and circles.

As kids get older (ages 4-5), they may be able to independently create more complex sculptures like animals or abstract designs. And if you have an older child (ages 6-7) who’s already familiar with how to work with sculpting clay, then you can even challenge them to recreate famous artwork or monuments out of Play-Doh!
No matter your child is age, crafting with Play-Doh is always a fun activity that encourages creativity and hand-eye coordination.

 

What are the Benefits of Play-Doh Activities?

One of the top benefits of play dough crafts is that they promote creative problem-solving and motor skills development in young children. It teaches them how to create things from scratch, helps them understand how different shapes fit together, and encourages imagination. Plus, playing with Play-Doh is a great way to help children learn important concepts like color recognition and spatial awareness.

What are Printable Play-Doh Mats?

Printable mats are mats you can download and print from your home computer.  They have fun, colorful shapes that allow the child to form the Play-Doh on the mat to create the shop. This is another great way to add variety and structure to your child’s play-doh crafting experience.

These mats come in all sorts of designs—from animals and vehicles to food items and beyond—and provide children with a template they can fill out using their imagination. This is especially helpful for younger kids who may struggle to develop ideas independently; providing them with a visual guide will make them feel more confident expressing themselves through art. Plus, these printables are often free or available for purchase at an affordable price!

How do you make your Printable Play-Doh Mats?

All you need is some construction paper or cardstock, scissors or a craft knife (for cutting out the shapes), markers or colored pencils (for labeling each shape), and glue sticks (for adhering to the shapes).

Once you have all the supplies ready, draw out the shapes on the paper that you want your child to use in their project—squares, circles, triangles, etc. Label each one with a name or number if desired. Then, cut them out and glue them onto a piece of construction paper or cardstock. You now have your very own custom-made Play-Doh printable mat!

Printable Play-Doh Mats for Extra Guidance

Printable mats are designed to help young children practice fine motor skills while creating fun images from Play-Doh. These mats feature outlines that depict everything from classic cartoon characters to everyday objects like cars or boats.

By following the outlines on these mats, kids can feel accomplished by completing recognizable shapes and figures while building up important skills such as spatial recognition and 3D manipulation.

Play-doh crafts and printable mats offer countless possibilities for creative expression in children of all ages. Whether your little one prefers free-form sculpting or wants something more structured, like filling out templates of animals or vehicles, there’s something here for everyone!

Best of all, these activities don’t require fancy equipment or expensive materials—you only need some play dough and maybe a few extra tools if desired (like cookie cutters). So why not give it a try today? Your little one will thank you later!