Free Printable Playdough Mats for Preschool – Cupcake Pretend Play

Cupcakes, anyone? These printable playdough mats are such a fun way to spend the afternoon inside with your kids.

The best thing about these cupcakes is that your preschooler won’t get a sugar high and their mouths won’t be stained with the crazy amount of food coloring that some regular cupcakes have!

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The kids loved pretend-playing with these as they “bake and decorate their cupcakes” with fun colors & I love the little bit of free time that it gives me.

My preschooler has been very busy lately and it’s been all that I can do to stay ahead of her mess-making fingers and keep her busy with good activities instead of emptying the contents of my purse or the craft cupboards onto the floor.

I love simple activities like these cupcake playdough mats because it only takes a few minutes for me to prep them and they are easily stored in between playtimes.

Paired with a little bit of playdough, this open-ended pretend play activity inspires her imagination as she decorates the cupcakes to serve to her sisters and me.

Pretend Cupcake Playdough Mats to Print Out:

First you will need a few simple materials, including playdough. You can buy some or make your own. I highly recommend this easy homemade playdough recipe – you can make batches in just a few minutes and your kids will love helping you.

Next you will need your printable playdough mats.

Get these play dough mats for free here:

Once you’ve received your play doh mats, download and print them. You can print more than one copy for multiple children too.

I printed two copies of the mats so that all of my daughters could play together.

You will also need a way to protect the playdough mats once you’ve printed them.

I love this inexpensive laminator. And if you need more laminating pouches (the clear protective plastic), these are a great deal.

Then, let your child’s imagination run wild!

Making the small sprinkles on the cupcakes is great for fine-motor skills for preschoolers, but the kids won’t even realize that they are working.

Playdough Mat Imaginative Play Ideas

Encourage your children to make different shapes and colored sprinkles. They can move the sprinkles to different cupcakes to test out color combinations.

Preschoolers can practice counting. Ask them how many sprinkles or lumps of frosting are on each cupcake. You can even ask your child to add up the sprinkles on more than one cupcake for a little addition practice if he or she is ready for that.

Kids can add mounds of playdough “frosting” to each cupcake.

They can even trace the outline of the cupcake using playdough.

These are just a few of the creative ways your children can enjoy these free printables! I hope your children enjoy their cupcake playdough mats. 🙂

Pin the image to save this playdough mat activity for later.