25 Play Dough Invitation to Play Activities for Kids
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My 3-year-old LOVES play dough. There are so many great activities you can use play dough with. One of my favorites is play dough invitation to play kits. Today I've gathered 25 of my favorite play dough invitation to play activities to share with you.
What is a Play Dough Invitation to Play Activity?
If you've never heard the term “invitation to play” before you might be wondering what in the world it is. It is basically a way to encourage a child to have an open-ended play, create, and use their imagination with simple items from around your house.
There is no outcome or directions to follow. They simply create, learn, and explore the way they want to with the items provided. Themes are a great way to encourage some fine motor work using the child's interests. If you have a child who doesn't care for fine motor work or is delayed, setting up a play dough invitation to play theme can be a great way to encourage this.
I love making my own play dough for play dough kits or invitation to play setups. It is definitely very easy and I've got two recipes that I typically use.
One is our calming no-cook play dough recipe. And the second is our 2 ingredient play dough recipe (this one is winter themed but you could adapt it for any type of theme).
Let's move on to the play dough invitation to play ideas for your store-bought or homemade play dough.
Nature Themed Play Dough Invitation to Play
Bug Fossils from Plain Vanilla Mom
Bird Play Dough Kit from The Kindergarten Connection
Mud Play Dough and Flowers from The Imagination Tree
Worm Play Dough Kit from Fantastic Fun and Learning
Jungle Play Dough Invitation to Play from Pickle Bums
Ocean Theme Play Dough Invitation to Play from My Bored Toddler
Seasons and Holiday Themed Play Dough Invitation to Play
St. Patrick's Day Play Dough Kit from Mama Papa Bubba
Christmas Play Dough Kit from Emma Owl
Gingerbread Man Play Dough Kit
Three Wise Men Play Dough Invitation to Play
Winter Play Dough Invitation to Play
Snow Play Dough Invitation to Play from The Chaos and the Clutter
Misc. Play Dough Invitation to Play Themes
Monster Play Dough Invitation to Play from Fantastic Fun and Learning
Rainbow Play Dough Kit from Pickle Bums
Outer Space Invitation to Play from Fantastic Fun and Learning
Frozen Themed Play Dough Kit from Mama Papa Bubba
Star Wars Play Dough Kit from Mama Papa Bubba
Do you need more play dough activity ideas? Check out my Pinterest board and other posts below.
Heather Greutman, COTA
Heather Greutman is a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant with experience in school-based OT services for preschool through high school. She uses her background to share child development tips, tools, and strategies for parents, educators, and therapists. She is the author of many ebooks including The Basics of Fine Motor Skills, and Basics of Pre-Writing Skills, and co-author of Sensory Processing Explained: A Handbook for Parents and Educators.