Play dough is one of my favorite mixed age group activities – a wonderful artistic medium that is fun for all ages! I have a fool-proof play dough recipe that I make in bulk, in several colors, so that there is plenty for my four kids and any friends who come over. We have a collection of tools that the kids use. Over the years, I have invested in a few nice tools – partially justified by the money saved by making our own play dough (which we actually prefer over the store-bought kind), but also by the HOURS the kids spend playing! Here are some of our favorites. This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.
- Melissa & Dough wood play dough tools – we especially like the stamps and the textured rollers (one was used on the cat below).
- Wooden mallet – not sold as a play dough toy, but should be!
- Cookie cutters – you can often find these at the dollar store or in Target’s dollar bins.
- Play dough press. We have one from a Play-Doh brand set, but I’m contemplating investing in these play dough extruders – has anyone tried them?
- Silverware. We use these IKEA plastic forks, spoons, and knives.
One of the things I love about play dough is that my kids each approach their play differently. One-year-old Anna is all about pounding and rolling, while eight-year-old Emma loves making animals – like the cat above and giraffe below. The process of using dough to make the animals really gets Emma thinking about what shapes make up the animal!
Six-year-old Johnny currently loves to make “snakes” using the play dough press:
Four-year-old Lily continues to adore patterns and stamping, as I mentioned a few months ago.
This is our basic play dough set-up; on other days we pull out small figurines, rocks, and even Kleenex to combine for play dough play!
How do your kids play with play dough?
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
Those textured rollers are super fun — I’ve never seen them in stores, so thanks for the link!
Love it! Play dough is so great!
My four-year-old has played with play dough a zillion ways. The newest one now is cookie cutter, like your images. He has done games where he picks out little bits, or he’ll roll them (like your picture again), or combine colors into new ones.
It’s only now that he has played with the play dough gadgets (like the kinds where if you push it out, the play dough will come out in spaghetti, for instance). He’s having fun with that, but I also wanted to make sure he knew how to explore it all on his own without props too.
That’s a great approach – giving him a chance to get creative on his own before adding suggestions!
My daughter prefers clay to playdough, but it’s still the same kind of sensory fun. I love how different your kids’ approaches are!
I still need to introduce my kids to that air drying clay that you use!
Emma’s cat is so cute!! And Anna is even cuter!! :) But I’m with Johnny – I love to make play dough snakes. I still need to try your recipe, and thank you for the links to the toys. They look very fun!
I like making snakes, too!
Play dough is definitely one of the classics.
Yes! Play dough is always fun.