If you are looking for some fun, new homemade playdough recipes, then you have come to the right place. Here you will find nineteen fun and exciting playdough recipes to enhance your child’s sensory play.
Using Playdough for Learning
Playing with playdough is a classic childhood favourite activity that has been around for many, many years. Not only does it provide hours of fun, it also provides a wonderful sensory experience that helps develop fine motor skills, aids in improving imagination and helps ease tension. There are so many good reasons to use playdough as part of learning in early childhood, here are just some of them.
Develop Fine Motor Skills
By rolling, squishing, flattening, and moulding playdough into lots of fun creations, creating are building up strength in their hand and finger muscles.
Developing good muscles is an important step that helps with holding a pencil and using scissors.
Encourages Creativity
Give your child some playdough and show them how to stretch, roll and flatten it. Then, let them experiment with it. This encourages them to be creative from the start. It helps to stretch their imagination and build some amazing creations.
Hand-Eye Co-Ordination
Supplying a variety of tools such as different sized and shaped cookie cutters, plastic toys, rolling pins, and scissors all help increase learning and hand-eye co-ordination.
Other manipulatives ideas include:
- Sticks and pebbles
- Coloured counters
- Cookie Cutters
- Plastic cutlery
- Plastic toys
- Rolling pins
- Scissors
- Lids
- Shells
- Wooden blocks
- Buttons
- Ribbon / fabric
- Straws
- Leaves / flowers
- Pipe cleaners
Relaxation
Playing with playdough is relaxing and calming. It is a great activity for children who need are feeling stressed out and need to release excess energy. While they are calming down, they will also be working on improving their focus while they manipulate the playdough.
Educational Skills
As they are creating, they are learning words that related to playdough and how to use it such as stretch, roll, and flatten.
When using playdough with playdough mats such as the ones below, they will be learning to read the letters and numbers on the mats as well as the shape when they shape them out of the playdough.
Math and science skills are also used when they explore measuring, mixing and experimenting with the playdough, creating different shapes, colours and textures.
Some great playdough mats to use are:
- Colour Playdough Mats
- 2D Shape Playdough Mats
- Robin Life Cycle Playdough Mats
- Nursery Rhyme Playdough Mats
- Christmas Playdough Mats
- Apple Life Cycle Playdough Mats
- Bee Life Cycle Playdough Mats
- Ladybug Life Cycle Playdough Mats
- Frog Life Cycle Playdough Mats
- Edible Marshmallow Playdough
- Butterfly Life Cycle Playdough Mats
- Dinosaur Playdough Mats
- Music Playdough Mats
- Sunflower Life Cycle Playdough Mats
- Music for Little Ones
- 100+ Educational Printables
- Alphabet Pictures Playdough Mats
- Alphabet Letters Playdough Mats
- Australian Animals Playdough Mats
- Parts of A Plant Playdough Mats
- Chinese New Year Playdough Mats
- Dental Playdough Mats
Homemade Playdough Recipes
These easy to make playdough recipes can be made from ingredients that you probably already have at home and are cheaper than buying commercial playdough. Check out the fun recipes below!
Kool-Aid Play Dough
Valentine’s Day Play Dough (3 Scented Recipes)
4 Scented Christmas Play Dough Recipes
Homemade Playdough Using Crayons
Homemade Playdough using Jell-O
Easy No-cook Sand Playdough Recipe.
Gluten-Free Peppermint Play Dough (Edible, Non-Toxic)
Edible Playdough with Peeps and Sprinkles
Homemade Dandelion Play Dough (Naturally Dyed)
Pumpkin Spice Playdough
How to Make Homemade Playdough - Easy Budget Recipes
Super Smooth, Soft Playdough
Edible Marshmallow Playdough
Easy DIY Homemade Play Dough Recipe
Easy Playdough Recipe Without Cream of Tartar (In A Slow Cooker )
Playdough Ice Cream Recipe and Pretend Play for Kids -
Peeps Playdoh
Christmas Playdough
Homemade Playdough with Essential Oils
Monte Carlo Biscuits