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    Home » Fine Motor Skills Activities

    Play Dough and Beads - Fine Motor Fun

    Modified: Apr 14, 2022 · Published: Apr 18, 2012 by Vicky · This post may contain affiliate links · 6 Comments

    130 shares
    • 1

    We love play dough at our house, but we sometimes get bored using it the same way. I like adding different items to our play dough time to keep interest. Today, we tried Play Dough and Beads which made the play dough look so pretty and also provided some great fine motor work for my kids. Next time you are looking for activities for fine motor skills try this!

    Playdough and beads fine motor play - this is such an easy activity to set up. It kept my kids busy for 40 minutes!

    Kids will love this play dough activity since it is a new way to have fun with play dough. If you are looking for more ways to extend play, try these Ocean Playdough Mats from Royal Baloo. You can print and laminate these colorful mats to use again and again.

    Play Dough and Beads

    Supplies you will need:

    • Play dough
    • Beads
    • Cookie Cutters

    Before we started I used some cookie cutters to cut various shapes out of the play dough.

    play dough and cookie cutters

    I gave the kids some shapes and a cup of beads and explained how they could decorate their shapes by pushing in the beads. As you can see, they really worked those little fingers pushing the beads in the dough.

    beads in play dough
    playing with play dough

    Picking the beads out of the cup provided good fine motor practice as well. For more practice, check out Fine Motor Practice with Straws.. Often, the kids were looking for a specific color bead and had to dig through the cup and then pick up the small bead.

    play dough and beads

     "A" filled her entire duck with beads. That's one colorful duck!

    play dough duck with beads

    Little C decided that she should fill up her shapes with beads too. She then kept herself busy picking each bead out of her play dough.

    play dough and beads

    Proud mommy moment! "A" saw me photographing her work and got her kid's camera (which actually works) and took a picture too. She's a blogger-in-training!

    play dough and beads

    I have to say play dough and beads kept the girls busy for a good 40 minutes which in mommy-time is an eternity! Please remind your kids not to put the beads in their mouth, nose or ears. None of your kids would ever do such a thing, right?

    If you liked this play dough and beads activity, you'll love:

        Birthday Party Playdough

         

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      St. Patrick's Day Kids Fine Motor Activities
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      18 Fine Motor Activities for Preschoolers
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    • Activities for Fine Motor Skills

    Comments

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Tammie says

      July 11, 2017 at 1:25 pm

      After the artwork is made can you bake it?

      Reply
      • Vicky says

        July 12, 2017 at 11:27 am

        I have never tried baking playdough so I'm not sure it would work. I know that if you leave it out for a few days it will dry and harden.

        Reply
    2. Deb Chitwood says

      March 18, 2013 at 10:37 am

      What a wonderful activity for both creativity and fine-motor skills! I featured your post and photo in my Montessori-Inspired Spring Playdough Activities at http://livingmontessorinow.com/2013/03/18/montessori-monday-montessori-inspired-spring-playdough-activities/

      Reply
    3. School Sparks Renee says

      April 18, 2012 at 8:14 pm

      Fabulous idea! A great way to keep the PlayDoh activity interesting. Those would make great paper weights when they dry! Renee

      Reply
    4. Cari and Cortnee @ Two Sasters says

      April 18, 2012 at 4:16 pm

      What a great activity!! I LOVE the last picture of your little blogger in training...too funny!!

      Reply
    5. Cranberry Morning says

      April 18, 2012 at 11:15 am

      That is so cute, and it gave me a chuckle when I read about the 40 minutes. That is so true, isn't it! 🙂

      Reply
    Vicky from Mess for Less

    I'm Vicky, the founder of Mess For Less, which I started in 2011 to share easy, family-friendly recipes. With over a decade of experience as a home chef and recipe developer, I love creating meals that bring people together. I also design play and learning activities for kids, using my background as a former teacher with a Master’s degree in education. Learn more about me.

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