Purim Playdough Mats

What better way to spend a gray and drizzly Purim Shabbat than exploring with playdough using our fun Purim Playdough Mats?!

Note: This adventure, and post, started last year, in 2020 (I can tell by how small my little guy’s hands look compared to this year!). But, per usual, it took me a long time to get it on the site! The good news is, these Purim Playdough Mats keep and I am pulling them out again today for some more Purim fun!

What You’ll Need

Playdough (homemade or store bought)
Purim Playdough Mats free printable
Purim symbols (optional)

Putting It Together

Put playdough on your playdough tray. We always make our own playdough but store bought works just as well! For Purim I usually go with a purple color, but again, any color will work and be lots of fun.
Print the Purim Playdough Mats and laminate them.
If you want, and have available, add some fun Purim symbols–a crown and necklace for some Esther fun, tiny groggers made from paper and toothpicks, pom poms for hamantaschen filling.
Invite your child to start exploring!

Finished and Loving It!

The opportunities for learning through playdough play are endless! We use playdough every week, for holidays and just because. It’s a lot of fun to explore, improves the muscles in kids’ hands, and can create a meaningful Jewish experience when paired with relevant symbols, playdough mats, and discussion.

My kids all love playing with playdough, even the older ones. They enjoy the challenge of matching the symbols on the playdough mats. My preschooler mostly enjoys squishing and adding other toys to his pile of playdough. And that’s totally ok! The idea is to create the invitation to explore and have the opportunities available for Jewish connection.

I often talk about the symbols and what they mean as the kids play. You can also introduce the play with your favorite Purim book. Check out our favorites here or order directly through our shop on Bookshop.org (supports independent bookstores, yay!)!

I added a few additional symbols, like the crown and beads, for some added exploration and fun. I also set up some dough circles for hamantaschen making practice. Pom poms can make great, and super easy, pretend hamantaschen fillings.

If you have little ones, like my preschooler, working on language development and articulation, playdough play is a terrific way to practice using words and sounds. I identified the holiday words for him, like grogger and hamantaschen, but we also explored words and sounds related to pretend play. “Mmmm good” and “chomp chomp” for the hamantaschen and “shake, shake” for the grogger.