Rainbows aren’t just for St. Patrick’s Day, they’re fun any time of the year! This rainbow playdough may look great, but did you know it also has tons of educational benefits? Yes! Playdough is full of opportunities for both learning and fun- it’s a great way to work on academic skills in a playful way.

Rainbow Playdough

Rolling dough with a rolling pin is great exercise for the muscles in the palm of the hand. Children who have well-developed hand strength typically have less difficulty with handwriting later.

Cutting dough with plastic scissors is also excellent practice for exercising muscles in the hands needed for writing skills. Plastic scissors are best for play dough because the salt in the dough will rust metal scissor blades.

Rainbow Play Dough Recipe

This play dough recipe provides the perfect opportunity for little hands to roll “snakes” or lengths of dough to create a rainbow. You could also discuss the lengths of the snakes to address measurement.

When children roll dough like this they are also exercising the muscles in the palms of their hands.

Here’s my homemade playdough recipe I used. I made small batches because I was making several different colors.

• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 TBSP salt
• 1 TBSP cream of tartar
• 1 TBSP vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup water
• Wilton gel food coloring or liquid watercolors

How to Make The Rainbow Play Dough Recipe

One thing I have found that makes a big difference in the texture of your play dough is to follow the directions very carefully. If the directions are followed carefully this dough is super smooth and soft which encourages little hands to squish and play.

First, mix the flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a pan. Then, add the water and oil and mix well. Next, add the Wilton gel food coloring and stir constantly over medium heat until the mixture starts to form a ball.

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Remove from the pan and allow to cool. If your dough is too sticky, add some flour. If cooked too long your dough will not be soft and may crumble easily.

If you are not using it right away then be sure to store it in a ziplock bag so it doesn’t dry out.

Don’t forget the pot of gold at the end of your rainbow! Rolling balls of yellow play dough to create gold coins or nuggets is another great way to build up the muscles in the palms of little hands.

I added a pair of kid-friendly tongs to pick up and transfer the gold nuggets to the pot for even more fine motor practice.

Leprechaun Prepositions

I saved the best for last! I named this little guy Lucky the Leprechaun- how original! I made him using a wood peg from the craft store and some permanent markers -easy peasy! I know; you don’t need to tell me, Lucky looks like the poster child for the Stranger Danger campaign, I think it’s because he’s not wearing a hat. Moving right along…

To create this activity, first, make a rainbow out of pipe cleaners. I just stuck some pipe cleaners into balls of play dough.

Next, give the child Lucky and have him move Lucky around the rainbow to look for gold as you use prepositional phrases. For example, you might say, “Lucky looked for the gold under the rainbow.” The child would move Lucky under the rainbow etc.

To practice expressive language, switch places with the child and you move Lucky as the child says the prepositional phrases, they love this part!

For small group play, give each child a leprechaun and have them act out the prepositional phrases with you. Hopefully you’re a better artist than I am.

Prepositional words such as in, on, beside, and under are included in most early learning standards.

More St. Patrick’s Day Ideas

If you’re teaching a St. Patrick’s Day themed lesson then you might enjoy including one of these activities to follow up with this fine motor activity in your pre-K or kindergarten classroom.

Growing Green Shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day– Here is a fun St. Patrick’s Day book and a science activity to help children learn about what seeds need to grow.

St. Patrick’s Day Fine Motor Activities for Preschoolers – There are plenty of ways to develop fine motor skills with a thematic twist. Here are some fun fine motor activities you can do with your kids at home or school for St. Patrick’s Day!

St. Patrick’s Day I-Spy Activity – Your kids are going to love this Rainbow I-Spy bottle for St. Patrick’s Day! Shaking the bottle and searching for the objects hiding in the rainbow is only half the fun, I also created a printable that will help your kids practice identifying beginning sounds.