I love when I set up an activity with one child in mind and the other ends up completely into it. I love the addition of small items to playdough not just for the extra kick of fine motor development ( playdough all by itself is great for it) but also for the extra kick of creativity. My toddler took to this activity very literally decorating her butterfly but my son experimented with decorating as well as using the materials as tools. I love watching the gears turn in their heads!
- Gather your materials. You will need some playdough ( I love the commercial stuff but have some great recipes if you want to make your own) , animal shaped cookie cutters, googley eyes, beads/bits of straws/buttons and other embellishments.
- Start by choosing a color of playdough and pressing it down flat.
- Choose a cookie cutter and cut out.
- Start decorating.
I love how a simple googly eye transforms the playdough. My daughter was totally into it but it was my son who surprised me. He was far more focused than I expected him to be. 
He quickly discovered that the beads made cool prints and that he could make it look like scales and fur. 
- After she was done her butterfly my daughter found our plastic scissors and joined us at the table to do some playdough cutting.
- My son just kept creating.
He couldn’t wait to show his dad what he made and his new techniques when he got home from work. 
Melissa says
Aren’t goggly eyes the best? They are always a favourite with our playdough activities too. I love the prints for the crocodile, they are very effective.
Georgina @ Craftulate says
So cute!
katepickle says
ooh I love these!
We love googley eyes with playdough and have made all kinds of creatures, but for some reason I had never thought to combine them with cookie cutters!!!
Allison McDonald says
It’s a first for us too !
Jill says
What fun! My little boy loves playdough and I never thought of adding googly eyes or cookie cutters. Seems so obvious when you think about it! This will give us hours of fun!
Katherinenof Aurora Spitfire says
I just love seeing how kids of different ages use the same materials. It’s also great fun seeing all the different stuff that mamas put out for their kids to play with. I need to make a new batch of play dough and get out some googly eyes!!
Allison McDonald says
This activity was such a surprise for me. I kinda begged him to come up so she would do it too ( she adores her brother) and she liked it but he really got into it. He was very very into using the materials as tools. It made my week!
Renae says
I found this post thanks to a link on the P is for Preschool facebook page. I liked it so much I want to feature it for my Linky Party this week. (Kids Learning Printables Linky Party #9) It will go up on my blog http://everystarisdifferent.blogspot.com. Thanks for doing this and keep up the good work!
Renae