# Playdough Prints with Pretend Power Tools
> Kids hammer, drill, saw and press pretend tools into play dough to make sun, flower and line prints. It's an easy fine-motor and hand-eye activity that turns into a math game when kids count prints and make patterns.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/playdough-play/
- Ages: 2–5 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: low
- Time: prep 5 min, activity varies
- Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class
- Skills: fine-motor, hand-eye-coordination, patterns, counting, pretend-play
- Cautions: wheat-gluten, ingestion-risk

## Materials (one batch)
- 1 piece Play dough in several colors
- 1 piece Pretend tool set (hammer, toy nails, saw, screwdriver)
- 1 piece Battery-operated toy power drill with drill bit
- Toothpicks (household)

## Safety
- Use pretend (toy) tools only. The post uses a toy tool set and a battery-operated toy drill, not real tools.
- Toy nails, small tool parts and the little dough pieces left on the drill bit are choking-size. Watch toddlers closely for mouthing.
- Play dough is not food. Many store-bought and homemade doughs contain wheat, so check the label for kids with wheat or gluten allergies.
- Toothpicks are sharp. An adult hands them out and supervises the cleanup.

## Steps
1. Give each child a hunk of play dough and flatten it into a thick circle.
2. Lay out the pretend tools: hammer, nails, saw, screwdriver and power drill.
3. Hammer a toy nail into the play dough.
4. Hold a circle of play dough and drill right through it with the toy power drill.
5. Look at the drill bit: it comes out with a nail-shaped play dough piece on it.
6. Press the drill bit into the dough over and over to make sun prints.
7. Press the toy nails into the dough to make flower prints.
8. Press the saw and screwdriver into the dough to make line prints.
9. Swap colors and tools and keep printing. Count the prints or make them in a pattern.
10. Clean up: gently push the stuck play dough out of the nails and drill bit with a toothpick.

## Tips
- Using the power drill was the best! Our drill was low on battery, so it took a while to drill through, and THAT made it more fun.
- Once I laid out the tools, both girls went straight for the hammer and there was a skirmish right there. Have other tools ready to hand out.
- Play dough gets stuck inside the 'nails' and the ridges of the drill bit. Push it out gently with a toothpick. Kids get a kick out of cleaning this one, and it's great for hand-eye coordination.
- Clean the tools right away. Don't let the play dough dry in them.
- We printed with different color and tool combinations over and over until they actually said "I'm done with playdough."

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2013)

We are taking a short break from the [**Math series**](https://www.funlittles.com/math-activities-2/) with a fun activity we did over the holidays. Make beautiful prints on playdough with power tools. **Isn’t it cool a drill bit can make sun prints and a nail can make flower prints? Flower Power takes a whole new meaning now.** With my toddler getting really upset at how easily her big sister can use a hammer and a nail in her pretend tool set, I set up this easy activity for her. Put a hunk of play dough in front of her and gave her a hammer to drive the nail through and generally have her use her tools on the play dough. It turned into a really fantastic activity for both my girls. Once I laid out the tools, immediately they both went for the hammer and there was a skirmish right there. While baby A used the hammer, Big A went for the drill and later used the bit to make prints.



Using the power drill was the best! Hold a circular piece of playdough and just drill through. Our power drill was low on battery and so it took a while to drill through and THAT made it more fun.



When you drill through a hunk of play dough, the drill bit ends ends up with a nail shaped play dough piece.



Printing with saw and the screw driver.



The "nails" which came with the pretend tool set made some amazing flower-like prints.



The drill bit printing gave us a perfect sun print. With that as a start we made a series of power tool prints and there were giggles all around.



Both the kids had a great time while developing their fine motor skills and their hand-eye co-ordination. You can easily turn this into a [math activity](https://www.funlittles.com/category/math-play/) by observing patterns, counting prints, making prints in a pattern. Pre Schooler



Toddler busy at work!



We did the printing with different colors and tools combination over and over again until they actually said "I'm done with playdough"

Clean up is so easy. The play dough does get stuck inside the “nails” and the ridges of the drill bit. I just used a tooth pick to gently push out the piece. Easy! Kids will have a kick out of cleaning this one. Great for hand-eye co-ordination. But make sure you don’t let the play dough dry.



Here are the playdough all nice and printed



- My Nearest and Dearest also had fantastic fun with tools and play dough.
- [Other ways we have had fun with playdough](https://www.funlittles.com/category/play-doh/)
- [We love Model Magic too.](https://www.funlittles.com/lets-start-a-bakery/)
- [DIY play food](https://www.funlittles.com/make-your-own-play-food/)

Thanks for stopping by our little space here. We encourage you to stick around and take a look at [**couple of**](https://www.funlittles.com/paint-with-spaghetti-brooms/) our [**popular posts.**](https://www.funlittles.com/animal-resist-painting/)

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