Playdough activities!! Most parents I know have a love/hate relationship with playdough. This post is here to help the swing toward love a little stronger. Playdough is such a versatile medium for all kinds of subjects.
(This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for any purchase made through my links. Thank you for helping to support my family!)
In case you hadn’t figured it out yet, let me just tell you what this post is about so you can be prepared. This post is about playdough activities. Yes, I said it. Playdough for toddlers, playdough for preschoolers, playdough for young kids, playdough for big kids. Playdough for everybody.
Why Playdough?
Ah, playdough. It’s one of those must-have items of childhood with which parents often struggle to enjoy. It keeps kids happy and occupied for hours, but it also leaves a mess of dried gobs on the floor, stuck to carpet, in hair, between cracks of the table leaves.
Little ones want to eat it. And let’s not even talk about the infamous and unavoidable yet OCD-stress-inducing mixing of colors. *Pardon me while I hyperventilate into a brown paper bag.*
If you’re like me, you like the creative stimulation, tactile satisfaction, and energy conduction that playdough provides. Also if you’re like me, you dread the pulling out of all the accessories, the finding of toothpicks on the floor for days, and the dried “crumbs” left all over the place.
Often you wonder if the mess and time spent cleaning up is worth it. I hear you. I’ve said “no” to playdough more than my fair share of times.
I’d like to offer some playdough activities to help in the decision of whether or not that satisfyingly squishy stuff is “worth it.” I’d also like to propose that playdough is good for all ages of kids, not just preschoolers.
If you need some new play dough or accessories, this set has 36 containers for a great price! One of my kids’ favorite things to make is food. This set is great for the aspiring play dough chef. All your basic tools are included with this cool set.
Toddlers
Littles as young as one can enjoy playdough. You have to be vigilant about making sure they do not eat it. If your toddlers take a pacifier, this would be a great time to let them have it. I have definitely been known to stick a paci in a little mouth while my tot plays with playdough. It makes the whole playdough-is-for-playing-not-for-eating thing much easier on everyone.
Some ideas for toddlers:
- Give one color at a time.
- Let them just squish their little fingers in it to their hearts’ content.
- Roll it into balls for them to squeeze.
- Teach them how to make snakes.
- Help them make the first letter of their name.
- Make handprints or even footprints.
- Place toothpicks in a ball of playdough and let them thread Cheerios onto them.
Preschoolers
This is probably the age that most people think of when they think of kids playing with playdough. These little guys can create with playdough for huge spans of time. With the expanding preschool imagination, the options here are almost limitless.
Just a few ideas for preschoolers are:
- Suggest an animal to make.
- See how long a snake they can make.
- Have them make their whole name.
- Let them use rolling pins and cookie cutters.
- Make a pretend meal.
- Suggest different objects.
- You make an animal and have them guess what it is and say it’s sound.
Young Elementary
While we don’t pull out the playdough for this age group as much as for preschoolers, the young elementary set still loves to imagine and create with playdough. This age is ripe for both entertainment and educational playdough activities.
Some ideas for young elementary kids:
- Pass out playdough and let them be creative.
- Read a book and have them sculpt a scene.
- Call out spelling words and have them make the letters.
- Let them use it as tactile stimulation while you talk or read.
- Help channel frustration into something constructive.
- Have them design a silly face.
- Let them sculpt animals or objects for you to guess.
- Play restaurant and make different kinds of foods.
- This carving/sculpting activity
Older Elementary
I have never had an older elementary child complain about being given playdough. I taught a VBS-type class for children whose parents were attending a conference. The ages ranged from 3-11. I was concerned about finding activities for all the kids to enjoy together and wasn’t sure how the oldest ones would feel about playdough.
Turned out, they were just as excited as the little ones! For most kids this age, they either haven’t gotten the opportunity to play with playdough in a while or they still really enjoy the creativity and stimulation.
Here are some options for older elementary:
- Have a competition to see who can make the silliest or most realistic ________.
- Have them sculpt a scene or character from a book they’re studying.
- Challenge them to make foods with as much detail as possible.
- Let them make animals or objects for you to guess.
- Give them STEM tasks to complete using playdough along with other objects such as toothpicks, craft sticks, marshmallows, paper clips, etc.
- Use playdough as a math tool to help with adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, geometric shapes, etc.
Middle and High School
Even preteens and teenagers enjoy the chance to get their hands in that squishy goodness. There’s just something relaxing about squeezing and manipulating playdough. If you pull out the playdough for your teens, most of them will respond with giggles and excitement.
Some playdough suggestions for teens:
- Sculpt a scene from a book or play.
- Play playdough charades/pictionary.
- Practice sculpting techniques.
- Have them make realistic-looking body parts such as ears, noses, hands, feet, etc.
- Challenge them to engineering tasks.
- Let them copy famous statues, buildings, bridges, etc.
Playdough is such a versatile tool for both entertainment and education for all ages. Check back often for more ideas for playdough activites!
Have you used playdough for any other activity not listed here? I’d love to hear your ideas! Please share in the comments!
I have more play dough ideas! You can find them in the post Preschool Money Activities and Carving Crafts for Kids. Check out the posts Not Your Average Yarn Bracelet and LEGOS, Riddles, and Puzzles, Oh My for other great activity ideas to do with kids! I have so many more on the Activities page.
You can also find encouragement for the trenches of parenting on the Moments page as well as lots of fully scripted lesson plans, activity kits, and plenty of resources for your family, school, or church in the Chasing Those Moments Shop.
Follow Chasing Those Moments on Pinterest for inspiring ideas to keep kids learning and engaged.
Like Chasing Those Moments on Facebook to keep up with the latest.
Please subscribe to the email list using the form above and to the right to keep in touch and get some freebies!
It takes a lot of time and money to maintain a website and continue to produce great content. If you’ve been blessed by the content here and would like to make a donation to help keep the site up and running, I’d be so grateful. You can click here or use the donate button in the sidebar.
