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Make Learning Fun with Play-Doh – Free Printable Play-Doh Mats

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This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

We all know that kids love Play-Doh® Modeling Compound. My kids can easily entertain themselves for hours with a container of Play-Doh® and a few plastic Play-Doh® tools. But as well as being fun, playing with Play-Doh® can have many other benefits for children. This post is sponsored by Play-Doh®.

Make shapes with Play-Doh

Hi, I’m Jennifer Dawn, a former educator turned homeschool parent, mother of three, and blogger at thelifeofjenniferdawn.com and contributor here at 5 Minutes for Mom. Today I’m excited to share with you some of the educational and developmental benefits of Play-Doh® for children. I’m also sharing several free printable open-ended mats that you can print and let your kids use right along with their sculpting clay.

Back-to-school time is the perfect time to stock up on school supplies and educational materials. Is Play-Doh® on your list of things to get during the back-to-school season? After reading this, it will be!

Play Doh Learning Activities Printable Mats

Play-Doh® provides an invitation for kids to explore in a creative, hands-on way. It’s play with purpose, and I’m a firm believer that children learn best through play! Here are a few of our favorite Play-Doh® products…

  • Play-Doh Shape and Learn Colors and Shapes
  • Play-Doh Confetti Compound Collection
  • Play-Doh Fun Tub

Play Doh Shape and Learn Sets

Play-Doh Mats

Many Play-Doh® sets like the ones from the Shape and Learn collection have interactive mats included with them. They provide a non-stick surface for kids to put their Play-Doh® on while helping to make the whole experience more interactive and fun. You can take a look at one of them right here.

Counting With Play-Doh

The internet is also filled with mats that you can print and use from home.

And we have a special free download for you today!

I’ve made a collection of open-ended mats that are perfect for using with Play-Doh®. Just download, print, and use with your kids! If you have access to a laminating machine, you’ll want to laminate these printable mats. Another option is to slide each one into a page protector and store them all in a 3-ringed binder until it’s playtime.

Click here to download the free Printables

Play-Doh Interactive Mats

Open-ended play dough mats are intended to be picture prompts for creativity. They have simple designs so there is plenty of room for kids to add to them with their Play-Doh®.

These particular mats were inspired by a trip to the Farmers Market–one of our favorite family outings. With the mats and a few containers of Play-Doh®, kids can pretend to plant and grow their own vegetables, sell them at a market, keep track of their money, make their own purchases, cook a tasty meal, and take the food on the road for a picnic outing. Isn’t imagination an exciting thing?!

Printable Mats Include:

  1. Garden bed just waiting for plants to be added
  2. Market table to fill with produce or other products to sell
  3. Piggy bank to make, store, and count bills and coins
  4. Tote bag to fill with your purchases
  5. Bowl with spoon to make a delicious meal
  6. Picnic setting that needs some food and fun details

Click Here to GET THE FREE PRINTABLE Play-Doh Mats
 

Benefits of Play-Doh® Molding Compound

Just in case these cute printable mats aren’t enough to make you want to break out the Play-Doh®, here are some additional benefits.

  1. Fine Motor Skills: All of the squeezing and molding strengthens muscle tone in the hands which in turn helps with fine motor skills.
     
  2. Calming: Play-Doh® is like a child’s version of a Zen garden or stress ball. It’s relaxing and soothing for a child to sit and manipulate Play-Doh® in their hands. For many kids, keeping their hands busy even helps to improve their focus.
     
  3. Creative Thinking: Providing a child with Play-Doh® also provides them with the opportunity to create! There is no limit to what they can mold and make. It’s an open-ended activity that builds their creativity. It’s also an opportunity to explore various art concepts.
     
  4. Social Skills: Any activity that brings kids and parents together for some quality time builds social skills. And I’m sure we can all agree that quality time together is another valuable perk.
     
  5. Following Directions: Whether it’s following your verbal instructions or directions on a Play-Doh® mat, playing with Play-Doh® provides kids with a hands-on opportunity to sharpen their listening skills and skills with following directions.
     
  6. Hand-eye Coordination: Set out Play-Doh® with cookie cutters, rolling pins, stamps, and other Play-Doh® utensils. As kids are picking up items to play and create, they are unknowingly practicing hand-eye coordination.
     
  7. Imaginative Play: The sky is the limit for Play-Doh®! Hand a child a container of Play-Doh® and there’s no telling what it will become in their eyes. Let your child’s imagination soar as they engage in this open-ended, sensory experience.
     
  8. Academic Skills: Turn Play-Doh® into a science lesson. It molds into a great fossil, volcano, ecosystem, or planet. Use cookie cutters and stamps shaped liked letters and numbers to practice literacy and numeracy skills. Use the dough to teach colors and shapes. There are Play-Doh® sets in the Shape and Learn collection that have all the tools you need to practice many of these skills. Keep in mind that these are just a few suggestions for the numerous educational experiences that can extend from playing with Play-Doh®.
     
  9. Neurological Development: Sensory input from a sensory activity like playing with Play-Doh® builds nerve connections in the brain. All of these connections help your child process and complete more complex tasks.
     
  10. FUN: Simply put…it’s just plain fun!

Play-Doh Pretend Meal Mat

Children learn best through play and Play-Doh® offers an irresistible invitation for kids to do just that. Grab a few Play-Doh® sets and enjoy the fun interactive mats provided with this post. Oh, and don’t forget to visit Play-Doh® on their website or on social media for more Play-Doh® activities for kids!

How do your kids like to use Play-Doh®? We’d love to hear about it! We also hope your and your kids have many fun and rewarding Play-Doh® playtimes ahead of you!

Click to Download the Free Printables
 

Pin it for Later

Printable Play-Doh Mats

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Play-Doh®.
Written by 5 Minutes for Mom contributor Jennifer Dawn. Jenn blogs about living a beautiful and creative life at The Life of Jennifer Dawn.

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37 Comments

  4. I remember when I had little ones we had play doh all over the house. They enjoyed playing with it all day long. A great learning toy that has stood the test of time.

    Reply

  6. These are so cute and what a great idea! Pinned! Thank you for sharing on Merry Monday! Hope to see ya next week!
    Kim

    Reply

  9. We haven’t had Playdoh in the house since my daughter was young. I think using it as a teaching tool is a great way to make learning fun.

    Reply

  11. Play doh is my childrens favorite thing to do. Even as they grow older, it always seems to keep them busy for hours.

    Reply

  13. I love that there are so many benefits to playing with Play Doh. I’m so glad my kids were able to do it at home and in pre-school!

    Reply

  14. This is a fantastic idea. My Son loves to play with Play-Doh. I will have to print off a few of these for the weekend.

    Reply

  15. I adored Play-Doh as a kid, I’m so happy it’s still popular these days. 🙂

    Reply

  16. Who doesn’t love having fun with Play Doh?! I think these are very creative and unique. Kids will definitely have a blast!

    Reply

  17. These are amazing ideas! Love the printables. I Will have to print some out for the kids for later today. Thank you so much for sharing.

    Reply

  18. These are great. Thank you so much for sharing. I will be printing these out and giving them to my daughter-in-law to use with my grandkids.

    Reply

  19. I’ve seen a lot of cool ways to play with Play-Doh but I’ve never seen a system like this- it’s genius and offers an endless amount of fun and educational options!

    Reply

  20. My youngest is still into Play-Doh big time. I think this is a great way to make learning a real blast for him. Thanks a lot!

    Reply

    • I love that Play-Doh is fun for kids for such a long time. My girls played with it for years… and really anyone at any age will start playing with it if it’s sitting in front of them. LOL

      Reply

  21. This is such a great idea. Children learn best when it’s fun, and Play-Doh makes EVERYTHING fun! Thank you!

    Reply