I’m using these play dough mats along with my Christmas Theme this month. These will help children with fine motor skills as they practice counting and numeral identification. You can find many more Play Dough Math Mats here, as well as a set of Gingerbread House mats.
To prepare the mats, print and either laminate or slip them into clear page protectors. I usually put them in page protectors and hook them together with metal binder rings. The top of each mat says, “Put [#] ornaments on the tree.” Children will identify the numeral on each page, and count out the correct number of ornaments to place on the tree.
There’s also a toddler mat for children who are not ready for counting yet, but need the fine motor practice. This mat simply says, “Put some ornaments on the tree.”
Children can use play dough to make the ornaments by rolling it into little balls. If you prefer not to use play dough, you can use buttons, craft pom-pom balls, flat floral marbles, or bingo chips.
Download the Christmas Play Dough Mats
Note: This printable is FREE. Just click to download.
Download the Christmas Counting Mats:
Download the Christmas Toddler Mats:
Christmas Books to Read with This Activity
The elfkins graphics used to make these mats came from Scrappin Doodles and the tree graphic came from GraphicsFactory.com.
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Thank you for another great freebie! You are so creative and kind to share so much of your work!
~Jessica
Fun in PreK-1
Thanks, Jessica!
I love the Mats. My teachers absolutely think you are a genius. The kids are enjoying so much. Thank you
Love it! Thank you for all of your ideas. You are appreciated!!
Thank You so much ,I like the idea.
I can’t wait to use these mats in my class! Thanks so much.
I can’t wait to use the mats in my class! Thanks so much.
Thank you for these Christmas trees, mi students will love to decorate with ornaments.
I just wanted to say thanks for sharing all your great ideas! I am a school based OT whose preschool students have so much fun playing your games- especially the play dough mats.
Thanks so much, Karen, for the playdough mats. I printed some of the toddler ones so I could be more versatile with directions. I think they would be nice for sorting mats, too.
You are so kind to share this wonderful idea with us.
Thank you:-)
I LOVE ALL OF THE GREAT IDEALS THAT ARE FOR CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR . I WORK IN A CLASSROOM WITH THREE YEAR OLDS. SO IAM VERY BUSY AND HARD TO FINR ENOUGH TIME TO GET EVERYTHING DONE FOR THE ROOM. SO ALL THE HELP IS GREAT TO HAVE. SO THANK YOU AND HAVE A GOOD ONE. GREATTTTTTTTTTT IDEALS.
I love all of these ideas and more! I also think it is a great idea to slip the christmas mats in plastic transperency covers! Why didn’t I think of that?