Play Dough Bug Activities
Turn your Play Dough Into Snails!
Did you know…
Snails mostly eat leaves, flowers, and stems.
Common garden snails have a top speed of 45 m (50 yards) per hour, making the snail one of the slowest creatures on Earth.
When Snails get scared, they usually retreat into their shell to protect themselves.
Snails have no backbone.
Snails do not change shells when they grow up. Instead, the shell grows along with them.
Use your Snail Shells and other Supplies to make your own Snails and other Bugs!
Have you ever seen snails leave a trail of slime behind them? Can you make a slime trail with your play dough?
Try Acting Out This Song with Your Snails!
(Start by Making 5 snails, & Practice your best bird-flapping hands!)
5 Garden Snails
5 little garden snails sleeping in the sun
Along comes a “Yellow” bird
And flies away with one
4 little garden snails sleeping in the sun
Along comes a “Blue” bird
And flies away with one
3 little garden snails sleeping in the sun
Along comes a “Red” bird
And flies away with one
2 little garden snails sleeping in the sun
Along comes a “Green” bird
And flies away with one
1 little garden snail sleeping in the sun
Along comes a “black” bird
And then there were none.
What Other Bugs Can You Make?
Watching a child’s creativity during sensory play is such a powerful reminder of their unique and magnificent brains. Set the play doh materials out in front of your child with a general prompt and see what happens!
Additional Play Prompts Could Be:
- Make a spider and his web. How many eyes does your spider have?
- Make a caterpillar or centipede. What can you use for all the little legs?
- Build a house for your bugs. Have your bugs laid any eggs?
- An ant’s body has 3 parts. Can you make a play dough ant? Don’t forget to add the eyes, legs, and antennae!
Head, Thorax, Abdomen
Practice singing the different parts of an insect with this goofy mix up of our favorite “Head Shoulders Knees and Toes” song! This would be a fun song to listen to while making your Play doh Bugs!
Make Your Favorite Color
Did you know that you can make ANY color by mixing a combination of red, yellow, and blue?
These are called our primary colors and they work like magic. Talk with your kiddo about his or her favorite color and then work those fine motor skills by mixing and squishing and creating it together!
Red + Yellow = Orange
Yellow + Blue = Green
Blue + Red = Purple