20 Easy Playdough Ideas for Kids
Kids of all ages love playing, exploring and learning with playdough, and you don’t need lots of fancy tools or elaborate activities for your kids to benefit from playdough.
These easy playdough activities use items you probably already have at home, or can easily buy at the supermarket, they are quick to set up, and your kids will love them.
Playdough is such a fun way to support your child’s learning!
When kids play with playdough they are working on fine motor skills, especially those needed for writing! They are using their creativity and imagination, they are working on eye-hand co-ordination, and lots of planning and problem solving skills. Playdough offers lots of easy ways to work on language skills, and social skills and can easily be adapted to work on specific literacy or math skills too. But the kids will be having so much fun they won’t notice how much learning they are doing!
Whether you use homemade playdough or everyone’s favourite playdoh from the store, these easy, creative, playdough ideas will be a hit with your kids.
Our Favourite Playdough Ideas
My own kids, and all the kids I have worked with have all loved these simple playdough ideas. From toddlers and preschoolers, as well primary/elementary school kids, it doesn’t matter how old they are, you will find a fun playdough activity on this list to try with your kids
Playdough and googly eyes.
Playdough and googly eyes is an endless fun combination! Make some people, or some monsters!
Set up a jungle themed play dough activity.
We used some animal figurines, pebbles, and cut grass from the garden for this jungle themed play dough activity. You can find the instructions for making the homemade grass dough here.
Make some playdough Cup Cakes
It only takes a few cupcake wrappers to make a fun playdough cup cake activity!
You could also add in some birthday candles (or use tooth picks) and some springles for even more cupcake fun!
Playdough with pegboard pegs
If you have a peg board set laying around, try switching out the board for a tray or plate of playdough! It’s a great fine motor work out and fun new twist on regular peg board play.
Playdough with natural materials
There are so many great natural materials you can collect to use with playdough. Try some pinecones, leaves, sticks, acorns, flowers, stones, etc. All free and easy to access!
Add some knives and plates to your play dough activity.
Disposable knives or butter knives are a safe option for young children to use with playdough, and a great way for them to easily and safely work on knife skills. Add in a few plates and they will soon be filled with lots of cut up ‘food’.
Try a rainbow themed play dough set up.
Set up a rainbow play dough activity with lots of rainbow coloured items!
Find all the info and get the free rainbow playdough printables here.
Combine blocks and playdough
Grabs some building blocks and some playdough and see what your kids make! This is a great STEM activity for kids of all ages!
Print some playdough mats.
Choose one of our fun, open-ended, free printable playdough mats! There are lots of choose from and they are a quick and easy way to add to a playdough activity
Combine glow sticks and playdough
Dim the lights, crack some glow sticks and try this creative glow sticks and playdough idea!
Use playdough as a base for imaginative play
Use playdough pushed onto a tray as a base for imaginative play. We made a farm scene and were able to make fences by poking sticks into the dough!
Stamp designs onto play dough!
Did you know that you can use stamps and a stamp pad with playdough?
More information for making your own stamps and using commercial made stamps with playdough here.
Playdough with animal figurines.
Simple animal figurines can be used with playdough in so many different ways! They can make footprints into flattened dough, you can make dough food for the animals, or even make some dough clothes, or accessories for the animals to wear!
Playdough with kitchen utensils
Raid the kitchen cupboards or visit the thrift store for some interesting kitchen utensils and items to add to your playdough activity. Look for potato mashers and meat tenderisers that will make interesting patterns in the dough, and fun baking containers and molds!
Playdough with sticks.
It does’t matter what kind of sticks you use – craft sticks, tooth picks, straws, or sticks from the garden – this simple addition to play will spark lots of creativity! Simply poking the sticks into the dough is satisfying for little hands, but you can also make spikey creatures, or use the dough to hold the sticks together to make simple structures, and much more!
Playdough with beads or buttons
A selection of beads or buttons (make sure they are large ones if your child still puts things in their mouth) and some play dough is a simple invitation to play that your kids will love,
Add texture to your playdough
Try adding different textures to your playdough by mixing in different items. Try coffee grounds, dried flower petals, rice, or check out our easy recipe for homemade sand dough.
Playdough with scissors
Cutting playdough is a great activity for learning to use scissors. Playdough is easier to hold and manipulate than paper, and gives great sensory feedback when cut. And the best things is, you can roll it and cut it, and roll it and cut it, and roll it and cut it, over and over!
Playdough with printable accessories
And easy way to set up playdough with a theme that your child is interested in is to use printable accessories. Quickly and easily print these free rainbow fish playdough accessories, or these free playdough garden accessories, or some fun space playdough accessories, some road signs, or some eyes and bones for Halloween!
Imprint patterns and textures into playdough.
Grab some items with interesting textures and experiment with making patterns textures and imprints into playdough.
These are only some of the endless ways you can play with playdough. Even just offering some play dough all on it’s own will result in lots of creative play for all ages.
All our favourites here Kate!…love your little model!! Where would we be without playdough??
We are in playdough overdrive at our place. favourites accessories are the cookie cutters and a baking tray to “cook” “biscuits” for the toys which then get doled out onto plastic plates and fed to them in a tea-party under the kitchen table, and the garlic press which makes great “worms” or “spaghetti” or “hair” for faces.
We have a bowl full of eyes and ears, noses, feet, hats and mouths etc so they can make creatures, sort of like Mr Potato Head. I don’t remember where we got them, left over from a modelling clay set I think but they are very popular. Kids love the making of the play dough as much as playing with it.
the favorites here are the plastic knives and paddle pop sticks! my kids love play dough!!
Playdough is also on high rotation at our place. Current favourite accessories are the cookie cutters and the garlic press (makes great “hair”, “spaghetti” and “worms.”)
seriously love this kate! Genius! and with everything that is just lying around the house too! xox