beat RAINY DAY blues with homemade playdough

Around here, we have playdough ready at all times.  I keep it in a plastic bin in my art cabinet.  Today, I really wanted to do something different with it, though.  So, I made two batches of PlayDough in different colors.  Then I brought out the animals.

What you need: Playdough (Try out the best no-cook playdough recipe you can make with (or without!) a stand mixer), Animals

Once you have the playdough made you can use it for other creative ideas too! Try Picasso playdough mats, PlayDough Bakery, best play doh tools, and PlayDough Play! 

When you’ve wrapped up with the playdough fun, try these free printable dinosaur shadow matching or finger knitting snake craft for another rainy day idea.

I rushed to prep the table while M and M were occupied.  I made eight ovals and then pressed a different animal into each one.

I mixed the animals up on the table and called the kids over.  I told them to find which animal made each imprint.

We had an even better time than I had expected.  The kids worked hard to find a match, and then they wanted me to walk away so they could set the stage for me.  Big M even changed it up a bit and made footprints.

M and M played with the animals for a while and then requested their usual playdough toys.  Big M worked on a construction site. And Little M baked her heart out.

This activity ended up lasting 3 hours!  Wow, was I a happy lesson-planning Mom!

Questions(to ask your kids):  “How can you tell which animal is a match?” “Are the legs the same on every animal?”  “Look at the texture; which animal would make these marks?”

Tips(to maximize learning):  1. Let your little ones help make the play dough.  2. Have them guess what will happen when the water is added to the dry ingredients.  3.  Give your kids a chance to knead while the dough is still warm. . but make sure you finish up otherwise, it will be sticky.

More Rainy Day Fun

Rainy Day Fun with Science
Umbrella Craft
Rain Walk: Rain Experiment with Kids

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