• naturalLiving
  • activitiesfor kids
  • Easyrecipes
  • yourhome
  • just formoms
  • Start Here
  • About
  • Start Here
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Natural Living
    • Essential Oils
    • Natural Homemade Ideas
    • Natural Solutions
  • Activities for Kids
    • Arts and Crafts
    • Playdough and Slime
    • Sensory Activities
  • Recipes
  • For Your Home
    • Backyard Chickens
    • Easy DIY Projects & Crafts
    • Organizing Tips
    • Tips and Hacks
  • For Moms
    • Caring for Yourself
    • Parenting
    • Product Reviews
    • Travel
  • About
  • Start Here
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • SHOP
↑

Living Well Mom

I help moms with simple, natural ways to look after their families. Find recipes, fun stuff for kids, and simple DIY ideas. Plus natural solutions made easy peasy!

  • naturalLiving
  • activitiesfor kids
  • Easyrecipes
  • yourhome
  • just formoms
  • Start Here
  • About
  • Home
  • Seasonal
  • Essential Oils
  • Natural Solutions
  • Autism

Fall Playdough Mats {Free Printables}

By Kim in Activities for Kids

free printable playdough

These free printable pumpkin playdough scenes are sure to be a hit with your kids this fall! Download three Pumpkin Scene Fall Playdough Mats.

These mats can provide hours of entertainment, as well as some excellent sensory play and learning for your family. I use these every year with my own children—it never gets old.

Free printable fall playdough mat with orange playdough pumpkin on it this idea now...

The Fun of Playdough Mats

I am definitely no stranger to playdough mats. In fact, we loved our apple playdough mats so much that we decided to create a playdough mat set perfect for pumpkin season.

We love playdough mats. We use them whenever we let the kiddos play with their playdough. Not only does it protect our table (bonus!) but it gives our kids a fun background to play on too. 

You can use them as placemats during lunchtime too if you want. Kids find it much more fun to eat their veggies if it has a cute background (it’s worth a try at least)! 

Fall Playdough Mats

These free printable pumpkin playdough scenes are sure to be a hit with your kids this fall! Download three Pumpkin Playdough Mats for lots of opportunities to create!

This playdough mat perfectly sums up the joy and bliss of the fall season. 

You know, that season between the kids’ first day of school and the first December freeze…some people call it “fall.” 

For me, it is the season where pumpkin overrides every other flavor. And pumpkin spice overrides every other scent. These printable pumpkin playdough scenes are perfect with some orange homemade playdough (bonus points if you add a pumpkin spice scent!). 

Get yours here:

free printable playdough mats signup form

How To Use Free Printable Fall Playdough Mats 

All you need to do to use the pumpkin scene playdough mats is print them out on regular printer paper then laminate. You will need a laminator and laminating sheets.

There’s also self-adhesive laminating sheets if you don’t have a laminator.

You can also slip the scenes pages into page protectors if you don’t want to laminate, though they may get more bent up that way. 

Another options is to use clear packing tape.

How To Make Orange Play Dough 

Make a batch of our favorite play dough recipe in a perfect orange color. I used a knife tip of orange gel food coloring and just a tiny bit of brown.

Create Pumpkin Spice Play Dough 

I also added 1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice to make it a little more interesting. This encourages sensory play since it uses their sense of smell in addition to their kinetic experience. 

This playdough takes less than 10 minutes to make, so it’s a perfect project to make with the kids or sneak in while they are having a quiet moment. 

These free printable pumpkin playdough scenes are sure to be a hit with your kids this fall! Download three Pumpkin Playdough Mats for lots of opportunities to create!

Fall Pumpkin Playdough Activities

These printable playdough mats make the perfect backdrop for a huge variety of playdough activities. I’ll share some of my favorite ideas with you below. 

Make Playdough Pumpkins 

I always like to let the kids explore our playdough activities independently first. They decided it would be fun to create some stems for the pumpkins, so we added in a tiny bit of light brown play dough that we had for another project. 

Imaginative Play 

Use other toys from around your house and let your kiddos’ imaginations run wild. Maybe small toy figures can go pumpkin picking, or perhaps some animals would like to join the scene. 

Build Scarecrows

Since this play dough mat is set on a farm, your child can build their own scarecrow. Use objects like sticks and pipe cleaners to add leg, arms, and a hat to the scarecrow. 

Jack-O-Lantern

For older children, encourage them to roll the playdough into a larger ball and design their own pumpkin carving out of it. This could take a lot more time and require some problem-solving skills. 

These free printable pumpkin playdough scenes are sure to be a hit with your kids this fall! Download three Pumpkin Playdough Mats for lots of opportunities to create!

Educational Benefits of Play Dough Activities 

Not only does it give them sensory play, but playdough actually encourages brain development in your kids. It strengthens fine motor skills and is fantastic for early math skills too. 

Just look at all the different things your child could learn just by playing with this orange fall-themed play dough. 

Develops Fine Motor Skills 

Rolling the balls to create the pumpkins is great for fine-motor skills and kids won’t even realize they’re practicing skills.

Ask your child to make really tiny pumpkins. As they work to pick up the baby pumpkins with their index finger and thumb, they are exercising their “pincher grasp.” These muscles are what they will use when they write, so it’s important to help them develop it. 

Sort From Biggest To Smallest 

To extend the activity into a little bit more learning, you can have your child put their pumpkins in order from biggest to smallest. 

This teaches your child organized thinking skills. It’s also one of the first mathematical skills they need to learn how numbers work. 

Color Mixing 

Color mixing is both an artistic skill and a scientific one. It’s fun to watch your child’s eyes light up as they see the play dough change colors. 

One way to teach color mixing is by making different colors of play dough with them. 

Add in alternative colors for a greater variety of pumpkins and then discuss that pumpkins can be several different colors, like blue, white, or yellow! Then have them sort their pumpkins by the color. 

Vocabulary Development 

Even though play dough is perfect for independent playtime, if you spend time working them you can teach them math and language development. 

As they play with it, introduce some new words, such as: squash, harvest, field, vine, and seeds.

Teach Pumpkin Life Cyle 

Playdough is the perfect way to introduce the science behind how plants grow. Use the dough to create the pumpkin life cycle. 

Mold your own pumpkin seeds. Then, create pumpkins and vines and teach them how the sunshine and water helps the plants grow. 

Addition and Subtraction

You can also teach your child beginning addition and subtraction with their play dough pumpkins. 

The two sides of the road on my printable play dough mat make this really easy. 

Place all their pumpkins on one side of the road. Then, ask them to count all their pumpkins. Place 3 pumpkins on the other side. Now ask them how many are left. 

If your child is ready, you can also teach them how to count their mini pumpkins by 2’s, 3’s, and 5’s. 

Just pin it below to find the instructions later!

child playing with orange playdough on a mat

No matter what you and your kids choose to do, these printable pumpkin playdough mats are sure to be a kid-pleaser!

My kids were fighting over them! But luckily, you could just print out two or three or more copies and they can each have their own playdough mats.

free printable playdough mats signup form

Also check out our other great playdough activities for kids:

  • Calming Homemade Playdough
  • Playdough Shape Mats (Free Printable)
  • Playdough Fun with Emotions (Free Printable)
  • Homemade Playdough for Christmas (DIY Stocking Stuffer!)

Dear Mom, Join the Living Well Mom Insiders

You’ll get exclusive content, “Sunshine for Your Day,” and more stuff Erika doesn’t share anywhere else!
    By entering your info, you’ll become a LWM Insider! Everything is delivered straight to your email inbox. You can unsubscribe at any time.

    Filed Under: Activities for Kids, Fall, Playdough and Slime, Seasonal Tagged With: free printable, playdoughPublished on September 16, 2020

    You May Also Love

    Pile of gluten free peanut butter cookies with bowl of peanut butter in the background.
    Chewy Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
    32+ Fun Outdoor Activities for Kids (That Will Keep Them Busy!)
    Bubble paint close up
    Bubble Painting – How to Paint with Bubbles

    Comments

    1. Lori Felix says

      October 28, 2015 at 7:19 pm

      The pumpkin scene playdough mats are adorable, especially the scarecrow one. I will have to print some out for my daughter’s students.

      Reply
    2. LauraOinAK says

      October 29, 2015 at 2:09 am

      I love how cute the pumpkin patch mats are. I can imagine my youngest son making different sized pumpkins to line up on it. Hey, that might occupy him for at least 30 minutes!

      Reply
    3. Ellen Christian says

      October 29, 2015 at 7:53 am

      What a cute idea! I love that you made mats to go along with them!

      Reply
    4. valmg @ Mom Knows It All says

      October 29, 2015 at 7:56 am

      Those play mats are super cute. I am imagining that the dough smells good because of the spice you added.

      Reply
    5. dawn says

      October 29, 2015 at 11:26 am

      how adorable. as soon as i started to read this post i smiled. i love those mats.

      Reply
    6. vel bigg says

      October 2, 2020 at 11:17 am

      Says its free if you sign up, signed up and never gave a link for the “free printable” very frustrating after entering my information and now a comment.

      Reply
      • Christine says

        October 2, 2020 at 2:39 pm

        Hi Vel!
        I’m sorry it gave you issues. It’s possible the e-mail delivering the printable went to your spam or promotions folder. Do you mind checking there and getting back to us?
        Thanks!

        Reply
    7. Caroline says

      October 15, 2020 at 3:33 pm

      HI. How do I download these free fall play dough mats? There doesn’t appear to be a link. I also signed up for the newsletter and gave me email address and nothing came that way either.

      Reply
      • Christine says

        October 16, 2020 at 11:25 am

        Hi Caroline!
        You’ll find the sign up form near the bottom of the post. Thank you!

        Reply
      • Erika says

        October 17, 2020 at 4:10 pm

        Caroline, if you are still having trouble, send me an email at erika@livingwellmom.com and I’ll help you. Sorry for the trouble!

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Erika Bragdon sitting on a bench drinking a drink out of her mug

    Welcome! I’m Erika and I’m the creator behind Living Well Mom.

    More About Erika

    The Latest

    • Easy Homemade Fruit and Veggie Wash (That Actually Works)
    • Chewy Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
    • 32+ Fun Outdoor Activities for Kids (That Will Keep Them Busy!)
    • Bubble Painting – How to Paint with Bubbles
    • Easy Baked Mac and Cheese Recipe (That Your Kids Will Actually Eat!)

    Trending Now

    • playdough in a container Make the Easiest Homemade Playdough Recipe That Lasts for Months {With Video!}

    • outside holding tick spray bottle with dog Simple All-Natural Tick Repellent for Dogs – with Video!

    • Taco Pizza is a great as an easy family dinner (you can even make it the night before) or a tasty appetizer. Kids love this recipe and the cream cheese/sour cream “sauce” and spicy taco flavor are a hit with adults too. Taco Pizza – The BEST Easy Dinner Recipe

    • homemade macaroni and cheese on plate Easy Baked Mac and Cheese Recipe (That Your Kids Will Actually Eat!)

    • big strong homemade bubble solution How to Make Bubble Solution (Easy + Strong Bubbles)

    • Hand pressed into a ball of fluffy slime Fluffy Dish Soap “Slime” (Borax Free)

    • Home
    • Seasonal
    • Essential Oils
    • Natural Solutions
    • Autism

    Living well is a journey not a destination

    copyright ©2025, Living Well Mom. / Site by Pixel Me Designs
    Privacy PolicyTerms & ConditionsDisclaimer
    2.5K shares
    • 76