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BEST Playdough Recipe + FREE Printable Playdough Mat Game for Preschoolers

Looking for a fun (and spooky!) themed activity for little ones? This fun activity for preschoolers combines our BEST Playdough Recipe with a FREE Printable Playdough Mat Game that kids will LOVE. 

Make a Spider Play Dough Game

BEST Playdough Recipe + FREE Printable Playdough Mat Game for Preschoolers

Obviously, if you already have playdough (or Play Doh) on hand, you won’t need the recipe but I’m including our BEST Playdough Recipe for the simple fact that it’s just that, the BEST! It’s so good and one that I’ve literally made hundreds of times and my favorite thing about it is that it stores in an airtight container for up to a month, no need for refrigeration, so it’s a fantastic one for activities like this. 

Make A Spider PlayDough Mat

What You’ll Need to Play the Spider Playdough Mat Game

Playdough (homemade or store bought)
Print outs of the Playdough Make a Spider Game Mat
Dice (you really only need one die to play, but sometimes it’s easier to give each child their own)

This game is SO easy and all you’ll need to play it is some playdough (grab my Best Homemade Playdough recipe) and you’ll need to print out the FREE printable Playdough Make a Spider Game Mats that I’ve provided for you. I like to laminate them to use over and over again, but you can always print them out on plain paper or cardstock depending on how often you’ll use them. For one-time use, printing on paper would be fine, although they will get icky faster. 

How to Play the Spider Playdough Mat Game

Give each child their own Make a Spider Play Dough game mat and let them select 3 play dough colors. (You can play with just one color, but I think including color choices also gives this activity another learning dimension as kids can talk about both numbers and colors and they build their spiders) 

Make A Spider Free Printable

Each child takes turn rolling the dice and following the instructions to add the body parts to the spider, depending on what number they roll.

Make A Spider Playdough Printable

The first one done building their spider is the winner! 

If you just have one child, this game can also be played solo OR a great game for parents to play with their children. Kids are so simple and they really just enjoy the time we spend with them, so activities like this were always favorites with my kids when they were little and I found that as a mom, I enjoyed these the most because there was little prep time and very little mess which allowed me to focus on my time with the kids in the moment.

This Make a Spider Playdough game activity would be a really fun one to include in any classroom Halloween party activities and it would also be a fun companion to favorite books or songs, like The Itsy Bitsy Spider.

You could even include different challenges and conversations in the game:

Who can make the biggest spider?
Who has the scariest spider?
Raise your hand if you still need spider eyes? 
How many legs to spiders have?

My favorite thing about simple activities like this is that the kids are learning while they are having fun. They’ll enjoy making their own playdough spiders and not even realize that they are working on their numbers, colors and also their hand-eye coordination – all at the same time! 

When you are finished with the mats (if you laminated them) you can wash them down with wipes and store them for another day. If you just printed them out on cardstock or paper, clean up is as simple as having each child throw away their game cards by folding them up and including any little playdough pieces that might still be lingering around. 

Make A Spider Playdough Printable

FREE Printable Playdough Mat Game for Preschoolers

Use this FREE Printable Playdough Mat to play this fun Make a Spider Playdough Mat game for preschoolers. Such a fun activity for learning numbers and colors and a fantastic idea for any Halloween classroom parties you might be hosting.

Materials

  • Playdough (homemade or store bought)
  • Print outs of the Playdough Make a Spider Game Mat
  • Dice (you really only need one die to play, but sometimes it's easier to give each child their own)

Instructions

  1. Give each child their own Make a Spider Play Dough game mat and let them select 3 play dough colors. (You can play with just one color, but I think including color choices also gives this activity another learning dimension as kids can talk about both numbers and colors and they build their spiders) 
  2. Each child takes turn rolling the dice and following the instructions to add the body parts to the spider, depending on what number they roll.
  3. The first one done building their spider is the winner! 
  4. This Make a Spider Playdough game activity would be a really fun one to include in any classroom Halloween party activities and it would also be a fun companion to favorite books or songs, like The Itsy Bitsy Spider. 

Did you make this project?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Facebook


Meet the author – Keri Lyn

The creative and frugal mind behind She Saved for over 12 years now, Keri Lyn shares her adventures in parenting along with her love for family travel, country living and brand marketing. A self-proclaimed “brand loyalist”, Keri Lyn is known for her strong and enthusiastic voice when it comes to the products and brands that she loves. She Saved has become a community for like-minded consumers who appreciate saving money, time and sanity by getting the best deals on quality products and experiences.

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