Ocean Playdough Math Mats for Counting and Addition
I kind of thought my kids would grow out of playdough by this age (especially the almost 11 year old) but I was so wrong. They love playdough more than ever now. I think I need to utilize it more in our learning.
And playdough is just as engaging for younger kids!
Apparently playdough is the magic dough that gets kids excited. And I thought fidget spinners were fun…
Benefits of Playdough
Playdough is more than just a fun toy for kids to play with.
Playdough is great for working on fine motor skills. And this is especially important in preschool and kindergarten. These kids are getting ready to be school age where they will learn to hold pencils correctly, cut with scissors, and other activities that rely on fine motor strength.
It’s also a great tactile and sensory toy. Molding and shaping playdough is amazing for kids who want more sensory input.
Check out this Ocean Animal Sensory Bottle for more Ocean themed sensory activities.
How to Set Up the Ocean Playdough Counting Mats
You’re definitely going to want to laminate these pages. Playdough is just moist enough that paper by itself would be ruined after one use.
If you don’t have a laminator, a sheet protector works just as well!
So print these out – trim them to cut off the little bit of white if you want, and then laminate or put them in a sheet protector! Pull out some playdough and you’re good to go!
How to Use the Playdough Counting Mats
You could turn this into a silly game or just allow for free play and exploration.
We pulled out a 10 sided die (although higher numbers or lower would work too) and used that to decide on how many pieces of playdough we would add.
You could also use two dice, add them together, and sneak some addition into the mix!
Simply roll the playdough to make long squiggles pieces (or balls for the clam version) and add them to the octopus or whale. They can add the playdough in many different artistic ways too!
Then scrap it all and start again.
We had a small discussed on what the octopus would be called with more or less legs. Septapus, Nonapus. The results are endless!
Get your Download Here!
Download the Playdough Math Mats Here
