Homemade Play Dough Recipes: A Fun and Easy Way to Keep Kids Entertained

 Play Dough Recipes: A Fun and Easy Way to Keep Kids Entertained

Play dough is a great way to keep kids entertained for hours on end. It's also a great way to help them develop their fine motor skills and creativity. And best of all, it's easy to make at home with just a few simple ingredients.

Here are a few of our favorite play dough recipes:

Ice Cream Playdough by Bitz n Giggles

This playdough idea is perfect for a mess free ice cream play session with the kids.

Thanksgiving Playdough by Making Frugal Fun

Make this for the family feast, and give the kids something to do while they wait to have dinner!

Shimmer Makeup Playdoh by In the Playroom

Who knew you could make playdough with make up?! This is a fun idea for girls who love all things glam.

Cornstarch and Lotion Playdough by The DIY Nuts

This recipe makes for the softest playdough ever. You are going to want to squish this a few times before letting the kids have it.

Pumpkin Spice Playdough by Suburbia Unwrapped

Playdough is always fun, but when it smells of pumpkin spice, the experience is twice as nice.

Super Soft Fairy Dough by Little Bins for Little Hands

This recipe for fairy dough is so soft it feels nothing short of magical!

Glittery Pumpkin Pie Playdough by Retro Potluck

A pinch of glitter takes this pumpkin pie play dough experience to the next level.

Glow in the Dark Playdough by Our Wabi Sabi Life

This playdough glows in the dark for an incredibly fun experience for kids.

Kool Aid Playdough  by The Best Ideas for Kids

This playdough is made with kool aid for such a vibrant color!

Chocolate Play Doh by Rainy Day Mum

Make a batch of chocolate play doh for kids to play with!

5 Minute Playdough by Made in a Pinch

This recipe only takes 5 minutes to make and is just the thing for a rainy day activity!

Color Changing Playdough by STEAM Powered Family

This recipe makes for a magical color changing dough that kids are going to love to play with.

Extract Scented Play Doh by The Typical Mom

This dough is scented with extracts for a sensory experience that kids are going to love.

Glittery Blue Playdough by Tikkido

This glittery blue play doh is perfect for a Frozen themed play session.

Conditioner Playdough by Sweet Silly Sara

Make this recipe with conditioner for a really soft playdoh to share with the kids.

Play Dough Variations There are endless possibilities when it comes to play dough variations. Here are a few ideas: Add glitter or confetti for a festive touch. Add essential oils for a calming aroma. Add herbs or spices for a sensory experience. Add different types of flour for different textures. Add salt dough to make ornaments or other crafts. With a little creativity, you can make play dough that's perfect for your kids. So get started and have fun!

Find more play doh ideas here:
Play Doh Food Puzzles
Play Doh Pie Counting

Playdoh Meatball Math

Are you looking for a way to make early math engaging for kids? This play doh activity makes for a fun way to master early counting skills in a manner that kids are going to want an extra helping of.

We are a play doh family through and through. Over the years I have created so many hands on lessons for my kids as well as invitations to play that started with a simple can of squishy play doh.  From a prickly cactus craft that my tween was enchanted by, to  DIY food puzzles for toddlers. I have always felt that playdoh was one of the best toys to have on hand because it doubles as a learning tool.

This idea is so much fun! It starts with 2 cans of play doh and a cute little pan. Grab a few dominoes and your little learners are ready to jump into this awesome activity.

Supplies:

Play doh. I used yellow, a little red and a little orange.

A small pan

Dominoes

Directions:

Create a pan of noodles from the yellow playdoh by rolling out into thin strips between your hands and tear them off at various lengths.

Combine a ball of red and orange dough together to make the meatballs. 

Now tear off small sections and roll them into balls.

Place the noodles into the pan.

Leave the meatballs over to the side.

Invite your preschooler to select a domino from the pile and count the dots.

This is how many meatballs this spaghetti needs. Count the meatballs as you add them to the noodles.

Repeat as desired until you have used all of the dominoes or mastered your counting lesson. I know your kids are going to love this take on early math!

Find more epic playdoh activities here.

Favorites include:

Play Doh Pie Counting

Lollipop Counting

Play Doh Pre Writing Activity

Play Doh Snails

Play Dough Ornaments 

Find more fun math ideas like these math games for kids.

Play Doh Sea Snails

 Play doh is always a favorite play time tool at my house. There are just so many ways you can create with it! This play doh snail activity is so easy! Kids of all ages will love to grab a can of doh and a few favorite shells and get creating! 

Summer is near, and we are so glad. We have been virtually learning for about 15 months now and we are ready for a break. While the kids have less work to submit each day as the year dwindles down, we have more idle time than ever. I am NOT the mom who wants to entertain kids all day long (sorry guys!) so I turn to open ended creative ideas like this one a lot. It keeps the kids happy and gives me a chance to get some things done. 

Even my 11 year old had fun with this one. Rolf usually is too tween cool for any of my hands on play anymore, but this one was high interest and he got involved with his sister.

These play doh sea snails are awesome for rainy day play too. You only need 2 colors of play dough and a few shells to make the magic happen!

Supplies:

Sea shells 

2 or more colors of play dough

Instructions:

Invite the kids to roll out a color of doh for the body of the snail. Carefully insert one end of the rolled doh into the shell. Make sure the end is rolled thin, and don't force it too far into the shell.

Form some small antennae and attach to the head of the snail.

Add small details with a different color of play doh.

Repeat with more shells for a bunch of cute little friends!

This is such a fun activity for kids that requires so little in supplies. It is economical and easy, but can create more detailed creatures with a little patience and imagination.

You can find more fun play doh ideas here

Reader favorites 

Play Doh Food Puzzles for Toddlers

Play Doh Pie Counting

Apple Tree Addition Activity

This apple tree addition activity is perfect for kindergarten and first grade students. It gives them a hands on chance to practice their skills and work hands on play into their lessons. This is an all around engaging way to teach addition to kids.

This semester both of my kids are attending virtual school. They have a great curriculum that they follow, and the kids seem to be ok with the change in how we learn.  But, I like to make sure they are learning offline too. This apple tree math activity is perfect for little kids who are just grasping math concepts. Plus it is easy to set up and it is a lot of fun to work with. 

Using play doh is a great way to make this more than a math activity. Play doh is great for sensory play as wee all know. Adding it to math? Thats an equation for fun learning! Adding pony beads gives the activity a fine motor element, so I guess this math lesson has a lot of layers to it!

Supplies:

Green and Brown Play Doh

Pony Beads

Small wooden letters or stamps

Directions:

Encourage your child to roll out a tree trunk with brown play doh.

Instruct your child to flatten out a can of green play doh for the leaves of the tree.

Select two numbers and stamp them into the leaves. Add a +  between them.

Offer your child a few pont beads.

Encourage your child to count out enough for the first number and press them into the doh.

Instruct your child to count out enough beads for the second number and press them into the doh.

Ask your child to count all of the beads to get the sum.

Remover the beads. 

Remover the "leaves"

Smash the green doh into a fresh pile of doh.

Repeat with more numbers.

If you liked this easy math lesson idea you might like these reader favorites:

Fine Motor Counting activity

Play Doh Pumpkin Faces

Button Tower STEM Activity

Button Towers are an awesome way to spend the afternoon for stem loving kids! This activity comes together with only two supplies to keep the kids entertained and building all day long.

Now more than ever, creative exploration is important for kids.  Mine have been out of school for over 3 months already and we are not sure what the new year will hold. We have been staying at home, and seeing what we can do with the things we have on hand. This Button Tower Stem Activity has been a big hit with both of my kids, and all of the other kids in the neighborhood too! 

You only need 2 supplies to pull this off. Kids will love seeing who can build the biggest tower and what methods work, as well as which ones don't work!

Supplies:

Buttons in assorted sizes

Play Doh

Directions:

Roll an assortment of play doh balls in various sizes.

Offer an assortment of buttons and instruct the children to build a tower.

My kids opted to alternate balls of doh and buttons to stack them up.

They said the key to making them stand was how you press the button into the doh.

Sometimes the towers tumble over on the second or third button; sometimes they stack easily. Either way it goes; it is loads of fun and presents an enjoyable challenge that kids of all ages will love.

I love that this was as simple to set up as digging around in my craft supplies. Some of the best activities really are simple in design.

Be sure to supervise little ones with this, as buttons can pose a choking hazard.

Find more fun ideas for kids here

Reader favorites include:

Seashell STEM Towers

Easy Aquarium Craft

Button Stacking Fine Motor Activity

This button stacking activity is easy to set up and is really fun for little hands. With basic household supplies you can set up an activity that will challenge fine motor skills in your kids while giving them a fuss free boredom buster.

Summer is here, but, really, it feels like summer has been here for months already with the school year going as it did. My kids have been getting a little restless.  I have been finding easy ways to entertain them, and give them the quiet play options like this button stacking activity.

Kids of all ages will love this activity. It is perfect for preschoolers and kindergartners as it works their fine motor and pincer grip.  It is just as fun and beneficial for elementary aged kids because it gives them a chance to practice working with fragile materials like brittle spaghetti. My kids like to challenge each other to see who can build the tallest tower the fastest.

This post uses affiliate links, if you make a purchase I will earn a small commission.

Supplies:
Dry spaghetti
Play doh
Buttons

Directions:
Flatten a can of play doh.
Insert two dry spaghetti noodles into the play doh.
Offer your child a pile of buttons.

Encourage them to thread the buttons on the pasta. See how many they can stack up without breaking the pasta.
Or encourage them to make a pattern of colors for variety.

Or encourage them to race!

See who can make the tallest stack of buttons without breaking the pasta!

Find all of our fine motor activities here
Veggie Garden Sensory Bin

Fine Motor Counting

Play Doh Lollipop Counting

Give early math lessons a sweet spin with this play dough lollipop counting activity. It  combines counting, fine motor skills and a touch of creativity to provide lots of hands on educational fun.

Play doh is my go to tool for hands on learning fun. There are so many ways to use it to learn. This play doh lollipop counting activity is fantastic because it uses basic supplies like craft sticks and play doh to create a math lesson little kids will love!

Supplies:
Assorted colors of play doh
Craft Sticks
Numbers or dice


Directions:
Invite your child to form the lollipops with a small bit of play doh and the craft sticks.
Encourage your child to pick a number from the pile or roll a dice.
Whichever number they come up with, encourage them to roll out that many itty bitty tiny balls of play doh in a different color.
Decorate the lollipops with the small balls of doh.
Repeat with more numbers for a hands on math lesson that works in fine motor skill work too!

You can find all of my play doh ideas here
Reader favorites include:
Play Doh Pie Counting
Play Doh Pre-writing
Play Doh Stamping

Play Doh Flower Counting Activity

Make counting and learning early math tons of fun for little ones with this hands on activity that combines early math with hands on tactile play. 

Play doh is the ultimate tool for play or learning at my house. We love to squish, mold and create with it, plus there are so many ways to learn with it. Adding it into our math lessons was a natural choice.

I was looking for a way to get Harper excited about early math, but it is hard to focus in the spring. There are so many colors, sights and smells to take in after months of indoor confinement.

As I took in the sights of spring, my inspiration was blooming all around me. 

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase I will earn an advertisers fee at no additional cost to you.

Supplies:

Play Doh; green and any 2 other colors

Buttons

Number Stamps

Directions:

With green play doh, form 2 flower stems

With any other color of play doh form the flower body

Tear off 10 pinches of play doh and shape it to look like petals.

Select two numbers.

Stamp them on the flowers.

Offer your child buttons and the petals of play doh you formed.

Encourage your child to say the number stamped on the doh.

Now, add the coordinating number of buttons to one flower.

Add the coordinating number of petals to the other flower.

Repeat with other numbers.

Find more play doh ideas here Reader favorites include:
Sunscreen Play Dough

Play Dough Multiplication Activity

This play doh multiplication activity is perfect for an introduction to multiplying for eager little mathematicians.

Rolf has been working really hard on his multiplication in the 3rd grade. During the 1st quarter of the year, he was struggling with the concepts. We tried flash cards, which are not at all fun. We tried making tables, which was also a snore. Then it dawned on me, why not true School House Rock?

That did the trick and made it a little more fun for him. Harp was learning too, so we decided to make the process a hands on fun way to learn to multiply. We do use affiliate links in this post. If you have a purchase I will earn an advertising fee.

We started with ones and twos to keep it simple; while Harp was only 5 at the time of this activity (yes! I sat on these photos for almost a year!) I knew that forming these math facts in her mind was a great way to start her off on the right foot.

Supplies:

Play Doh in Brown and Green

Pony Beads 

Wooden Numbers

Directions:
Roll the brown play doh to resemble a tree trunk
Flatten out a can of green play doh for the leaves
Select two wooden numbers and press them into the top.
Use the edge of a number to make the x symbol
Offer your child a selection of pony beads.
Have them press the correct number of pony beads into the dough.
To explain the concept to my girl I told her to count out the first number of the problem in beads, then to do it again and press them in.

Find more play doh activities here

Reader favorites include:

Play Doh Pre-Writing

Design Your Own Play Doh Ornaments

Play Doh Stamping Activity

Put your old scrap booking stamps to good use with this preschool play doh stamping activity.

It is no secret that we love play doh. From  using it as an early math tool, to making one of a kind Christmas ornaments. Play Doh is one of my favorite tools for preschoolers to learn with!

This activity was inspired by cleaning out my office, where I had a stash of scrap booking stamps collecting dust. I thought about tossing them in the Yard Sale box we keep going year round, but I had a better idea, they make a perfect play doh tool.

Supplies:
Play Doh
Scrap-booking stamps

Directions:
Invite your child to smash or roll a can of play doh out.
Offer an assortment of stamps and encourage them to stamp a scene.

This activity has kept Harper happily creating for weeks. She keeps a few stamps with her play doh collection and loves to pull them out and make unique scenes.

You can find all of my play doh ideas here.

Reader favorites include:

Play Doh Pie Counting

Play Doh Pre-writing Activity

Play Doh Pre-Writing Activity

This play doh pre-writing activity is a fun way for preschoolers to work on letter recognition and writing while using their developing fine motor skills.

As we prepared for kindergarten, I wanted to make the process of learning the letters fun for Harper. We turned to our local discount store to find supplies. I came up with a really cute and easy way for her to practice her letters and see them printed too.

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Supplies:

• A bag of letter beads; I found mine at Dollar Tree.
• Play Doh
• A Pencil or Play Doh Tool for Writing

Directions:

Invite your child to flatten a can of play doh .
Ask your child to pick on letter bead from the bag of beads.
Encourage your child to write the letter in play doh using a pencil or play doh tool.
Instruct your child to find more beads in the same letter and place them around the letter they wrote in the play doh.
Repeat with more letters.

This was a fun hands on way to practice letter recognition, letter formation and fine motor skills. It was the perfect way to mix play time with learning.

You can find all of my play doh recipes and ideas here.

Favorites include:

Play Doh Pie Counting

Play Doh Ornaments

Play Doh Pie Counting Activity

Play doh pies are the perfect way to make learning a hands on activity. Little learners will love getting a good grasp on counting and number recognition.

Harper is my go to girl for all things to make or bake. She loves to get involved in all of my projects.

We made a chocolate chip cookie pie a few weeks ago and she was hooked on pie making! She asked me everyday for a week if we could make another pie.

Finally, I came up with an idea that thrilled her and satisfied her desires to make a whole bunch of pies.

Play doh pies are great for fine motor play, rolling the dough into little balls is fun!

Adding a few wooden numbers turned the activity into a counting lesson too.

This post contains affiliate links. Making a purchase helps to keep my site running!

Supplies:

A mason jar lid

Play doh

A play doh tool for cutting

Play food rolling pin

Directions:

Roll out a can of yellow play doh

Cut the doh to fit a mason jar lid to form your pie shell.

Use any leftover doh to cut strips. These will form your lattice crust.

Encourage your child to roll a can of play doh into small balls.

Select a number you want to work on counting to.

We decided on number 6.

Have your child count the selected number play doh balls to the pie shell.

Now have your child count the number of leftover crust strips.

Have your child add the selected number of lattice strips to the top of the pie.

Repeat with other numbers.

We loved this activity, it was easy to set up, encouraged learning and hands on play, and kept Harper busy for several afternoons. Play doh is our favorite learning tool these days!

If you are looking for more play doh ideas here are a few reader favorites:

Super Soft Hair Gel Play Dough 

Glitter Sunscreen Play Dough