Today I made Shavuot playdough mats and let the kids explore some sensory fun while being exposed to more Shavuot symbols. I also laid out our Shavuot 3 part cards and read off the summaries again while the kids explored just as a gentle review of the customs and traditions. My nature lovers gathered some of our backyard flowers to decorate the playdough to represent the blooming on Mt. Sinai.
We are such playdough lovers over here! I love the way playdough helps strengthen little hand muscles, the creative and imaginary play that comes from exploring with the dough, and the hands-on learning kids can experience when the playdough is paired with a targeted set up (either with playdough mats or other props).
The playdough mats are available as a free printable. I always make the playdough recipe from @weneedmoreglitter but this time I added some honey to remind us that the land of Israel flows with milk and honey, always applicable for Shavuot!
What You’ll Need
- Your favorite playdough
- Shavuot playdough mats printable
- Laminator or contact paper
- Flowers (optional)
Putting It Together
- Make or take out your favorite playdough.
- Print the Shavuot playdough mats.
- Laminate the mats or cover them with contact paper.
- Gather some flowers if you want to make your Mount Sinai bloom!
- Invite your kids to play, explore, and learn!
Finished & Loving It!
Playdough is a standard in our house. I absolutely love how it brings all the big kids together. There is something so enticing about playdough, no matter your age. I loved seeing my three bigs all at different stages of playdough play with these mats. The oldest very carefully followed the outlines on the dairy mat, making each of the items, decorating them with flowers and scoring the cone with a knife. The youngest was content to smoosh and plop and just play. Both experiences have so much worth!
Having an activity that all three love to do together of course helps this Ima out. I loved that I was able to deal with dishes after I introduced them to the activity and read some of the corresponding Shavuot 3 Part Cards. It’s always great when they have these hands-on learning experiences that fill their sensory bucket and they enjoy spending the time together!
What kind of playdough explorations do your kids enjoy?
You might like our others Shavuot posts:
Shavuot Montessori-Style 3 Part Cards
Mount Sinai, The Ten Commandments, and Us Craft
Want to learn more about Shavuot? Check out the resources below!
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[…] I dug using the playdough mats for our Lag Ba’Omer Shelfie because they are such simple ways to display the symbols that I want my kids to learn about the holiday. I repeated it here for Shavuot. Instantly, we can see these main symbols and themes–the 10 Commandments, flowers, Mount Sinai, and the Torah. Sweet and simple. And obviously perfect for Shelfie signage or their original and beloved purpose, Shavuot Playdough Play! […]