If your students are working on master their numbers 1 to 10, you’ll want to add this counting activity to your centers.

What will students do on each play dough mat?

There are two levels of mats for students to work on representing numbers 1 to 10.

For level one, students will read the number word, build the numeral out of dough, and fill in the given number of gumballs with play dough. 

For level two, students will build the numeral out of dough, trace the number word, and fill in the appropriate number of gumballs (out of 10).

Is this really considered an academic center?

Absolutely! While these number mats are a fun counting activity for your students, it is also engaging them in their learning. Completing a kinesthetic activity like this may help your students solidify their number sense knowledge. As these number mats are perfect for an introduction, this is not a resource that your students will need to use for long. Once they are more comfortable with these numbers, you will want to provide them with more rigorous counting activities.

Do you have any suggestions for implementing this resource?

First of all, I would laminate the play dough mats for durability. This will also keep the dough from sticking to the pages.

Secondly, I would suggest find some trays to help contain this center as seen in the pictures above. You could even use lids to containers to achieve this.

And last, but certainly not least, I would spend some time going over expectations of play dough use, such as appropriate ways to handle the dough and where these types of centers should be completed. 

This worked well for my students at the beginning of the year, but they really need something more difficult. Do you have any other number sense or counting activities?

You’ll find several number sense activities within my monthly center packs. There are also some fantastic digital number activities available in my store.

Will this activity help my students with their fine motor skills?

Yes, play dough is a great way to get kids working with their hands and strengthen their fine motor skills.

Do you have any other play dough mats available?

Yes, you can find mats for the alphabet, CVC words, and CVCe words in my store.

Is this available in black and white?

No, this center is only available in color. However, you can always choose to print your file in grayscale or black and white in your printer settings.