Free Life Cycle Playdough Mats For Sensory Fun
Kids love playdough, and they love learning about the world around them. Imagine combining these two joys! These free printable life cycle playdough mats are perfect for younger kids, making learning both interactive and fun.
Each set includes four pages featuring the life cycles of a bee, butterfly, frog, and ladybug. With prompts to build an egg, larva, pupa, and adult, these mats encourage hands-on learning.
These animal life cycle activities are sure to be a hit!
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By crafting these life cycles with playdough, kids engage in a multi-sensory learning experience. They can see, touch, and create, which helps reinforce their understanding of biological processes in a way that static images can’t.
Playdough life cycle mats
These playdough life cycle mats are fantastic tools for interactive learning. Here’s what you need to get started:
Supplies needed:
- Life cycle playdough mats (scroll to the bottom of the post to get the pdf file.)
- Play-doh (various colors)
- Dry erase pockets or a laminator
Life cycle of a bee
- Build an Egg: Use small balls of white playdough to form the bee eggs.
- Build a Larva: Shape a piece of yellow or cream playdough into a small, curved worm to represent the larva.
- Build a Pupa: Create an oval shape using yellow or orange playdough to depict the pupa stage.
- Build a Bee: Use black and yellow playdough to form the adult bee, adding stripes, wings, and antennae.
Use our free bee life cycle coloring page to carry on learning.
Life cycle of a butterfly
- Build an Egg: Roll tiny pieces of white playdough into a ball to represent the butterfly egg.
- Build a Caterpillar: Form a segmented caterpillar using yellow, white, black, and grey playdough.
- Build a Chrysalis: Shape green or brown playdough into a teardrop shape to depict the chrysalis.
- Build a Butterfly: Use colorful playdough to create the butterfly, adding wings, patterns, and antennae.
Have fun with a butterfly scavenger hunt too!
Life cycle of a frog
- Build an Egg: Make small black and white dots of playdough to represent frog eggs.
- Build a Tadpole: Use green playdough to create a tadpole, adding a tail and small fins.
- Build a Froglet: Form a small frog shape with legs using green playdough, keeping the tail slightly visible.
- Build a Frog: Shape green playdough into a full-grown frog, adding legs, eyes, and other details.
Use our free frog life cycle coloring page too!
Life cycle of a ladybug
- Build an Egg: Use small, white, or yellow playdough balls to represent ladybug eggs.
- Build a Larva: Shape a black playdough piece into a segmented worm to depict the larva.
- Build a Pupa: Form an oval shape using red playdough to represent the pupa.
- Build a Ladybug: Use red and black playdough to create the adult ladybug, adding spots, legs, and antennae.
Add our free ladybug life cycle coloring page to your lesson plans too!
Why use life cycle playdough mats?
These mats are designed to be simple yet effective teaching tools. Here’s why they stand out:
Kids use their hands to mold playdough into different life stages, which helps solidify their understanding through active participation.
The bright, colorful images on the mats draw kids in, and the tactile nature of playdough keeps them engaged.
Perfect for classroom activities, homeschooling, or even as a fun rainy day project.
Kids don’t just play—they learn about important biological concepts in a way that feels like playtime.
Laminating the mats or using dry erase pockets allows for repeated use, making them a long-lasting educational resource.
Need to print later? Add this to your Pinterest board or share it on Facebook. You’ll have it handy whenever you’re ready to use it!
Download the free educational playdough mats
To get your free printables for kids, simply add your name and email address to the form below.
Additional play dough mats
- Dinosaur playdough mats from Homeschool Preschool
- Weather playdough mats from Living Life and Learning
- Christmas playdough mats from Darcy & Brian
Last Updated on 7 September 2024 by Clare Brown