Create Your Own Playdough Maths Activities At Home
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Upgrade your drawings to 3D with a playdough by numbers activity! This is a great way to introduce your under fives to maths and logic using play.
Take your painting by numbers to the next level by using play dough to make your drawings literally jump off the page! Not only is this a unique and fun way to get creative that kids will love, it's also a great activity to help young children improve their fine motor skills through counting and colour-matching.
Follow the steps below to create your own playdough masterpiece and put the kids' number skills to the test!
1. Choose a design, for example your children's favourite animal, and draw out a basic outline dividing sections up like the head and limbs. This will be your play dough mat, but if you don't want to make your own there are plenty of free printable playdough mats online that you can choose from!
2. Decide what colours you'd like to use for your playdough design and create a key matching these with the numbers 1-5 (depending on how many colours you will be using), for example brown equals the number 2. Mark the different sections of your playdough mat picture by each number, starting with 1 and counting up.
3. Start building your playdough onto this number mat using the colours as a guide. You can either flatten it out as you go or have your playdough coming out of the page in 3D!
4. When you're done carefully remove the design from the sheet, if it's one you'd like to keep, and you can reuse these playdough number mats over and over making a different key each time to try out a variety of colours!
Colouring by numbers is a wonderful way to disguise counting as play and support the early years development of your pre-school children, whilst older kids will love getting more adventurous with their play dough designs as they challenge their number skills.
Download your own instructions to get creating and share them with other parents looking for the best playdough maths activities for their kids!
Through #kidadldaily we'll be sharing one fun-packed idea a day to keep you inspired during lockdown, using only household basics or just your fine selves. Got some old cardboard boxes lying around?
Why not make your own robot costume or pirate ship! Follow the #kidadldaily hashtag on social media so you don’t miss our daily dose of inspiration, and tag us in your pictures and videos so we can share them across our platforms! We can’t wait to see what you create.
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Bachelor of Arts specializing in English Language and Literature
Laura SavageBachelor of Arts specializing in English Language and Literature
Growing up in the bustling city of London, Laura has always had a passion for exploring everything it has to offer. From trips to the theater and Science Museum to leisurely strolls in the park, she loves immersing herself in the culture and diversity of the city. Laura's love of travel, writing, and art exhibitions has taken her around the world in search of inspiration. She also enjoys discovering the latest food and drink hotspots in London. With a degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Birmingham and a Masters's degree in Publishing from the London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London. In her spare time, she also likes to flex her creative muscles by designing eye-catching graphics for Kidadl's social media platforms.
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2) At Kidadl, we strive to recommend the very best activities and events. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability. Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
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