Farm Animals and Playdough

Inside: Combine farm animals and playdough during your farm theme for some hands-on play!

Young children love to press toys into playdough!

So when I was setting up our farm theme, I chose to add farm animals to the playdough table and it was a huge hit!

Grab whatever farm animals you have on hand.

I’ve tried this with small and larger animals and both provided lots of fine motor fun.

Playdough is one of our choices during centers time and it is often the first center children visit upon arrival.

I make sure this center is near our classroom door because it’s the first area children see when they arrive.

This is very beneficial for those who are dealing with some separation anxiety, or who might just need some quiet “comfort time” before moving on to the rest of the activities.

We change out our playdough table with each theme, usually every two weeks.

Watch: Tips for Handling Separation Anxiety

Some of our playdough ideas:

• Color Mixing Fun 
• Apples and Red Playdough
• Elmer the Elephant
• Squeezing Playdough

Related: 15+ Fall Playdough Ideas

Farm Animals and Playdough Activity

Supplies

• Playdough (Recipe is in this post.)
• Assorted farm animals
• Assorted playdough tools
• Mats, trays or mirrors

Set Up

I like to use something to mark each spot at the playdough table.

Sometimes I use trays or themed playdough mats but often I will use mirrors.

Place a ball of playdough on each mat/mirror, flatten a bit with your hand, and press one or more animals on each one as an invitation.

Include a tray of playdough tools or scatter them around the table.

The Playdough Center

What I love about the playdough center is that it’s open-ended and few directions are needed.

In fact, I love watching what they will do when they first sit at this table.

Sometimes a teacher will sit with the children and model using the provided tools, or show the children how to roll a small piece in their palms.

This area is also where I love to sit and have a one-on-one conversation with a child, or a small group of children.

Watch: Playdough Favorites

They might put several animals on the playdough, seeing how many can fit.

This is when they can be encouraged to count the animals, if you happen to be sitting with them.

If your children have had practice using scissors, you can add those, too! (Note: The child in the photo was still working on how to hold the scissors and changed the placement of her thumb and fingers after this photo was taken. This is why we love working on scissor skills at the playdough table!)

Find our favorite farm books and toys in our Amazon Storefront!