Number Playdough Mats That will Make Your Kids Excited to Learn

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These 1-20 number playdough mats are a great multi-sensory way to teach early math skills to kids in preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten.

I learn best by doing.  I like to see and hear, but I truly gain an understanding when I can feel, touch, and manipulate things.  Sometimes my inability to understand some things until I can see and feel them baffles my husband.  He obviously learns things differently than I do.

These playdough mats would have been perfect for the 3-year old version of me.  Use them for multi-sensory math activities…to teach early math concepts in a fun way.

Number Playdough Mats in Full Color

Number playdough mats in full color.

The 1-20 half-sheet number playdough mats come in several different styles and can be printed in full color and black and white.  The ten-frame mats feature a large numeral on the top with a ten-frame on the bottom.  Laminate the mats so that playdough does not stick to them.

Playdough is such a great learning tool.  It provides sensory input, it helps kids build their fine motor skills, and it just feels good to squish it between your fingers.  If you want to make your own playdough, try my quick playdough recipe.

One style of ten-frame mats has colored dots on the ten-frame.    Then kids can use coils or blobs of dough to trace the number and learn to recognize its shape.  Children can also cover the dots with counters and/or blobs of playdough as they practice counting and one-to-one correspondence.

Learning number sense with your number playdough mats.

To create more of a challenge, you can print the number playdough mats without dots in the ten frames.

Black & White Number Playdough Mats

Black and White numbered playdough mats.

The third style of number playdough mat included in the set does not contain ten-frames.   There is just a nice blank area beside each number so that kids can add counters or blobs of dough.

I like the black and white versions of the mats because they give me the opportunity to get a little creative.  You can print them onto different colors of paper or cardstock to coordinate with playdough, counters, or theme.

Add playdough or blobs of playdough to your number playdough mats to teach number recognition.

They are a great addition to a playdough tray or invitation to play.

More than Just Playdough

There are many materials, besides playdough, that you can use with these number mats.  Here are some ideas:

  • Moon sand or Mad Mattr
  • Floam
  • Slime
  • Wikki Stix
Print the black and white ones on colored paper to match your theme with your number playdough mats.

The number playdough mats also work great with loose parts and small counters.  Placing small parts on the ten-frame is a great way to work on fine motor control. Here are some ideas:

  • Small thematic erasers
  • Buttons
  • Coins
  • Pebbles
  • Googly eyes
  • Jewels
  • Pom-poms
  • Beads

More Ways to Use the Mats

Here are a few additional fun ways that you can use the mats:

  • Finger Tracing – Kids can work on number formation and recognition by tracing the large numeral with their pointer finger.
  • Rainbow writing– Use markers or crayons to practice tracing the numerals.
  • Number matching game – Create two sets of cards and ask kids to find the matching pairs
  • Compare quantities – Place the appropriate quantity of counters or blobs of playdough on two different number mats.  Determine which mat has more and which has less.
  • Coloring pages.  Use the black and white versions of the color mats as coloring pages.  Kids can draw the appropriate quantity of objects.
  • Sticker sheets – Add the correct number of stickers to each number mat
  • Composing and decomposing numbers – Use two colors of counters and find different ways to represent a number (1+4=5, 2+3=5, etc)

Purchase the Number Playdough Mats

To purchase the 1-20 Number Playdough Mats from my store, click on the image below.

You can save some money by purchasing the Playdough Mat Bundle.  The bundle includes both the Number Playdough Mats and the Alphabet Playdough Mats.  Click on the image below to check out the bundle:

I bet that you will find many of your kids are like me….they learn best by doing.  I hope that you enjoy using some of these ideas to keep their little hands busy moving and their brains busy learning.

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