Play Dough Multiplication Activity

This play doh multiplication activity is perfect for an introduction to multiplying for eager little mathematicians.

Rolf has been working really hard on his multiplication in the 3rd grade. During the 1st quarter of the year, he was struggling with the concepts. We tried flash cards, which are not at all fun. We tried making tables, which was also a snore. Then it dawned on me, why not true School House Rock?

That did the trick and made it a little more fun for him. Harp was learning too, so we decided to make the process a hands on fun way to learn to multiply. We do use affiliate links in this post. If you have a purchase I will earn an advertising fee.

We started with ones and twos to keep it simple; while Harp was only 5 at the time of this activity (yes! I sat on these photos for almost a year!) I knew that forming these math facts in her mind was a great way to start her off on the right foot.

Supplies:

Play Doh in Brown and Green

Pony Beads 

Wooden Numbers

Directions:
Roll the brown play doh to resemble a tree trunk
Flatten out a can of green play doh for the leaves
Select two wooden numbers and press them into the top.
Use the edge of a number to make the x symbol
Offer your child a selection of pony beads.
Have them press the correct number of pony beads into the dough.
To explain the concept to my girl I told her to count out the first number of the problem in beads, then to do it again and press them in.

Find more play doh activities here

Reader favorites include:

Play Doh Pre-Writing

Design Your Own Play Doh Ornaments

15+ Halloween Books for Toddlers

Don't miss our Halloween reading list for little ones! Rolf and Harp hand picked most of these 15+ Halloween Books for Toddlers. These are some of the ones they remember liking the most when they were "babies". 

From colorful picture books to touch and feel titles, this list has a Halloween book for every toddler! Please be advised that I am participant in the Amazon affiliate program. If you make a purchase I earn a small advertising fee, which helps keep the site up and running!

Where Is Baby's Pumpkin? (Karen Katz Lift-the-Flap Books)

Little hands will love exploring this lift the flap book and helping baby find her very own pumpkin!

My First Halloween
With warm and friendly illustrations this book focuses on the moments that become memories for families.

Hoot Howl Halloween
It is Halloween night and the moon is bright, as your little one discovers the haunted house, they can press a button to activate one of ten spooky sounds.

Babies Love Halloween: Lift-a-Flap Board Book
This book offers a fun way to practice sentence structuring while introducing Halloween to little learners with the fun of discovering what lies under the flaps of the book!

Biscuit Visits the Pumpkin Patch
Biscuit visits the pumpkin patch. What could he find there besides the perfect pumpkin? Toddlers will love the friendly surprises that await in this book!

Little Blue Truck's Halloween
Hop in and go for a ride with Little Blue as he picks up his friends for a costume party! Toddlers will love lifting the flaps to see who is in the costumes!

Related: Paper Plate Spiders

Llama Llama Trick or Treat (Llama Llama Board Books)
Llama Llama picks out a costume, finds a great pumpkin and heads out with Mama Llama for a fun night of trick or treating!

Disney Baby My First Halloween
This board book is perfect for little ones. It has friendly Halloween images and touch and feel elements for an engaging experience.

Winnie the Pooh Pooh's Halloween Pumpkin
While walking in the hundred acre woods, Pooh finds a marvelous pumpkin. Toddlers will love what Pooh and friends do with it!

Halloween ABC
This book gives kids a chance to practice their abc's with a festive touch!

Little Cat: Finger Puppet Book 
This little book has a lot of fun hidden in the pages with a little finger puppet friend to help tell the story.

Related: Glam Pumpkins

  

Little Friends: Trick or Treat: A lift-the-flap book
Tag along with some little friends for trick or treat fun! Little hands will love to discover what is hiding behind the flaps.

The Cheerios Halloween Play Book
A snack and an activity that are perfect for Halloween fun await toddlers with this book!

Boo! (Leslie Patricelli Board Books)
This book covers all of the bases for fun with costumes, pumpkins, treats and a boo or two!

Pop-Up Peekaboo! Pumpkin
This fun lift the flap book is packed with pop up surprises. Toddlers will enjoy this friendly book.

What is your toddlers favorite Halloween book? Leave a comment to inspire young readers everywhere!

veggie garden sensory bin

This veggie garden sensory bin comes together so easily to give little ones a chance to play and get excited about their vegetables while working on fine motor skills.

We have a weekly routine in the summer; every Tuesday and Saturday we head to the farmers market. We buy all of the fresh food we will eat that week, plus a little extra to freeze. I love how the offerings change throughout the season. The kids love the sights, the smells and the baked goods. While they might spend most of their visit to the market pleading for cookies, they always jump in the line for our favorite farmer. Who gets to hold the basket and who gets to pick the produce? We always work it out.

Last week while we were in line for our peppers, onions and radishes, the kids were bickering about the basket and the picking job and inspiration hit. I knew right away that I was going to recreate a garden scene for their enjoyment. If they argued about who got to play first, I will never tell.

Supplies:

• Plastic box with clip lid
• One pound of dried black beans
• ½ cup of whole coffee beans
• Leaves from artificial flowers
• Assorted play food; tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, strawberries etc
• Plastic serving tongs
• Sandbox tools

Directions:

Layer the dry black beans in the box.

Add coffee beans to the mix for a fragrant experience.

Nestle the leaves into the beans (I simply removed the leaves from a few stems of
artificial flowers).

Place the fruits and vegetables in the beans and on the leaves.

Add plastic serving tongs and plastic shovels.

Invite your child to harvest the veggies, to explore the beans and to work on fine motor skills
by picking the veggies and beans up with the tools.

This was so much fun for the kids. Even too cool, 9 year old Rolf got involved and explored this veggie garden sensory bin.

This was fun to smell and touch and it gave Harp a chance to work on her fine motor skills.

When you are all finished playing, you can snap the lid on the bin and store it for playtime in the future.

You can find all of my sensory content here.
Birthday Cake Sensory Bin