One of our favorite tricks for getting kids to play longer is through a little guided play. Playdough mats do just that! We’ve created 6 free printable playdough mats for you to use with your kids at home or in the classroom to help celebrate the Valentine’s Day holiday.
Playdough is perfect for at home play and preschool/kindergarten stations. It’s the ultimate classic art and craft toy for kids. Whether you buy it from the store or make your own, kids of all ages love playing with the squishy stuff. Playdough mats are the perfect way to help inspire creativity with very little guidance.
If you’re looking for an easy station to add to a classroom Valentine’s Day party, print off our free printable Valentine’s Day Playdough Mats and add a playdough station in the mix. We like to give the kids a few options to choose from so they have variety and can switch mats during the station if they need to. Some kids will take their time and create lots of detail; others will go quickly through each one; but by adding multiple mats, the kids can easily spend 10-20 minutes (or longer) at the station.
Our free printable Valentine’s Playdough Mats include
- Get Cupid Ready (two different skin tones)
- Decorate the Heart (two different colors)
- Decorate the Sugar Cookies
- Design Some Flowers
Don’t forget to add scissors, toothpicks, plastic knives, and other crafting items to the activity for even more creativity. We love to use things like glitter, beads, toothpicks, pom poms, googly eyes, yarn, ribbon, slime, styrofoam balls and so on to make it just that much more fun.
Want to take this activity a step further? Help children create some fun stop motion videos. Our kids love using the free app Stop Motion Studio to create stop motion videos with Play Doh, toys, blocks and so much more. It’s so easy that even our younger kids know how to make & edit their own videos now. Kids want to be on the phone all the time and are so smart so why not use that to our advantage and trick the kids into developing a new skill or hobby?! Our kids have created lots of stop motion videos using all the Playdough Mats we’ve created over the years. We’ve even incorporated these mats & stop motion videos into our church youth groups for activities and we’ve had positive feedback from all the kids each time!
It’s so fun seeing that with a few materials and a little skill, you can create your very own movie!
In our opinion, playdough mats are a must-have in every playdough bin. They help open children’s minds by guiding them to think and create as well as help them with fine motor skills.
For more free printables, craft ideas, activities for kids of all ages, and other helpful parenting tips to help kids and families create and play, follow us on Instagram or sign up for our weekly newsletter.
Much love and aloha,
Stacey + Niki
