FREE Play Doh Name Mats for Preschool + Kindergarten

The first few weeks of school are definitely the hardest, ESPECIALLY when your students have NEVER gone to school before. Every year I try to think of fun and simple activities that my little learners will love. I try to get them as excited as possible that they are finally in Kindergarten! Wahoo!

One activity that I do multiple times throughout the beginning of the year are Play Doh name mats. No matter how many times my students do this activity they never get tired of it. This activity has to be one of my favorites because it is so hands on, yet independent for any early elementary aged students.

This post will take you through everything you will need to know about this FREEBIE and the benefits of having an editable playdough mats for your students. So if you’re ready, keep reading!

Free Play Doh Mat Options

Within this freebie resource I have included 6 play dough mat templates:

Back to School Play Doh Mat
Superheroes Play Doh Mat
Outer Space Play Doh Mat
Under the Sea Play Doh Mat
Animal Play Doh Mat
Transportation Play Doh Mat

There are a variety of mats to pick from so that you can choose which template fits your classroom theme best. Also, if your students get bored of their mats (which rarely ever happens!) you can easily switch them out.

Easy Google Slides Instructions for these Playdough Mat Printables

If you are new here then you may not know that I am OBSESSED with Google Slides. You will find that all of the resources on this blog are made with Google Slides for a number of reasons…

1. You can create and edit resources on your Google Drive that automatically saves your work. Unlike most editable resources, this one SAVES the changes you make. This means if you edit the Google Slide to add all of your students’ names on Monday, you can go into that same Google Slide on Friday and your students’ names and any changes you make will still be there… YAY!

2. You can access all of my resources in your Google Slides so you never have to worry about losing or misplacing them.

3. Wherever you are (at home, in school, the library etc.) and whatever device (laptop, PC, Chromebook, Ipad, smartphone, etc.) you can access Google Slides.

4. You can organize all of your files by subject or month and add my resources to whichever folder you see fit.

If you are already familiar with Google Slides, then you can scroll to the bottom of this post and click the rainbow button labeled, “Click Here for FREEBIE,” to access these FREE and EDITABLE Play Doh Mats. However, if you would like a quick step by step of how to use this resource, then keep reading!

Using Google Slides to Access this Free and Editable Play Doh Mat Printable

After downloading this product you can make a copy for yourself. This is super helpful because you can pick and choose which slides you want in your presentation. For example, if you only want to use the superheroes and back to school templates, then you can make a copy, keeping those two slides and deleting the rest.

1. Click the rainbow button labeled, “Click Here for FREEBIE.”

2. Once the Google Slide opens in another tab, click on File → Make a Copy → Entire Presentation. Then, click the yellow button, “OK.”

3. Delete any slides that you do not want in the presentation you just made. You can do this by clicking on the slide to highlight it, then then right mouse click and hit Delete.

P.S. – Don’t worry, you have the original downloaded in your Google Drive already so if you accidentally delete a page you can always go back in the original and copy and paste it into the slide.

4. When writing your students’ names on each mat, you are going to want to…

Click the slide that corresponds with the mat you want to use.
Click on Edit → Duplicate.

Now, the slide that you selected should be duplicated! Keep repeating this process until you have the number of crowns you need for your class.

5. Click on each textbox and type your student’s name where it says, “Name.”

6. Print the mats on your paper of choice and wah lah! You are officially a Google Slides Master!

You can choose if you would like your students to color in their own play doh mats or if you would rather print the mats on color paper.

Materials Needed

In order to do this activity with your students, you will need some basic supplies. I have attached links to some of the products if you are in need of any of the materials:

Paper of your choice (white or color printer paper, white or color cardstock, etc.)
Crayons or markers (Optional if you are printing on color paper)
Laminating sheets or page protectors (Optional, but highly recommended!)

I highly recommend that you either use page protectors or laminate these mats. It will make cleaning up easy and give you the ability to reuse this activity throughout the year!

Using these Play Doh mats in Your Classroom

When introducing this activity I would go over your rules about play doh. For example, not mixing colors, keeping the play doh on the mat, etc. It always helps to model what you mean so that your students have a visual to go along with the expectation. I would even teach them how you want them to clean up… even explicitly showing them how to put the play doh in the container and click it shut.

Another tip when teaching expectations is to set a timer that tells your students when to clean up. Your students are going to be super excited for this activity so give them a 5 minute and 1 minute warning. I also always tell my students that if they clean up before I finish counting down, then they can do the activity again tomorrow, which really motivates them to be the first ones to pick up!

Tips to Making this Activity Short and Sweet

Back to school can be super hectic so if it is towards the end of the day and you notice there is only 15 minutes before pack up… don’t sweat it! To make this activity shorter you can:

Print these mats on color paper ahead of time
Call students by group and hand them a play doh container… you get what you get and you don’t get upset 🙂
Remind students that they can do this activity again if they clean up before you finish counting down! (But make sure you stick to your word, if you plan on saying this!)

Tips to Stretch Out this Activity if you Find Extra Time in Your Schedule

When handing out the mats, show each printable to your students to see if they can identify their names
Allow for “free time” with the play dough after your students have finished tracing their name with play dough 3 times
Have students use other materials aside from play dough (erasers, gems, buttons, pennies, etc.)

P.s. – Although I keep mentioning that this is a Back to School activity… I actually use these mats ALL YEAR LONG! These mats are perfect to use as a station when introducing your students to either literacy or play centers. I also put it in my sub plans as a substitute for play centers when I am absent.

The Moment You’ve Been Waiting for… Click Below for the Play dough Mats!

Click below to access this FREE and EDITABLE Play Doh Name Mats. Read above in the section, “Using Google Slides to Access this Free and Editable Crown Printable” if you need help navigating this resource with Google Slides!