Ramadan Themed Invitation to play - Lantern Play dough Mats

Inside: Lantern Play dough Mats – a fun way to play with Play dough. It is for our Ramadan themed invitation to play. Make a decorate a lantern with our free playdough mats.

What preschooler doesn’t like playdough? We have this fun Rooh Afza Playdough that we love in Ramadan. My children love to squash and mold them or press them out into ice cream to feed me when I am fasting :0 If you have a child this age, you will know how easily children get bored from any activity.

As a mom to little preschoolers, I love activities for them that will encourage imagination, play and learning all together. So to spark things up, I made some Lantern themed playdough mats.

They are four different shaped Lanterns that the children are suppose to decorate. There are many ways to use this mat. I prefer to not give them any instructions. Since my children and I share an hour every afternoon where we play together as a family, I have found that kids quickly borrow ideas from each other to create their own masterpiece. Even if you don’t have anyone for your child to share these mats with, I encourage you to at least sit for a few minutes to get them going, you can slowly inch away leaving them to themselves afterwards.

Invitation to play themes help children learn to use a variety of medium and stretch their imagination. It is also a great way to encourage independent thinking and practice those motor skills. These lantern playdough mats are different shaped and colored to encourage children to recognize those shapes and work on them.

My children were at it for an hour. Molding, shaping, cutting and placing the gems that I gave them. Here is how to play:

GET THE LANTERN PLAY DOUGH MATS HERE

Grab the play dough mats from our Free Resource Library and then get decorating them!

Make and Decorate a Lantern

What you need:

Playdough – try this rose one or this jello one or this no cook one or any that you have.
Our Lantern theme playdough mats (Get it from my TPT STore for free)
Plastic inserts to protect the paper or laminating sheets (optional)
A segmented plate to place various curios decorative items in.
Playdough tools ( knife, cutters, rolling pin, etc)
A choice of decorative elements like gems, buttons, beads, sequins, lace ribbons, scraps of yarn, stickers etc.

How to play:

Print out the play dough mats on A4 size paper. You can place them in a plastic insert, laminate or leave as it is.
In a segmented plate or tray, place all the different choice of decorative elements for your child to play with.
Place a lump of playdough on the sheet and invite your child to play.
Usually children need no instructions if they are a bit older but some smaller preschoolers may wonder what to do. You can start playing by their side showing them how to make.

Please note: Depending on your child’s maturity you may have to keep in mind the size of the items used. Some preschoolers may still be putting things in their mouth so choose things wisely.

There is no right or wrong way to play so let them go wild with their imagination. Don’t expect masterpieces or perfection. The main point of this activity is to encourage children to play and use their imagination. They are also practicing hand eye coordination, gross and fine motor skills as well as recognizing colors and patterns. They are having fun while learning. Sit back and watch them play.

The mistake most parents make with any activity is expect that your child will play with it for hours. It is normal for children to have a short attention span. Expect that they may get bored (or overwhelmed!) by it in a few minutes. It is different with every child. Some children will be engrossed in it for hours others may choose to walk away or not play at all but then come back later to want to play. It is okay and totally normal. Remember our mission is to provide more ideas and opportunities to play.

Hope you and your child both enjoy this Ramadan themed invitation to play idea.

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DOWNLOAD MAKE AND DECORATE A LANTERN PRINTABLE