Fine Motor Resources

Looking for engaging number playdough mats to boost counting, number recognition, and fine motor skills? These printable mats are perfect for Foundation and Kindergarten learners and include numbers 0–30 in a variety of formats and themes. They’re low-prep, hands-on, and aligned with key early years maths outcomes.

Related Post: Playful Fine Motor Activities

What Are Number Playdough Mats?

Our number playdough mats combine early maths learning with tactile play. Children use playdough, counters, or manipulatives to:

• Form numbers (digits and words)
• Count and match quantities to numerals
• Practice number formation and recognition

Each mat focuses on essential number sense and counting principles — ideal for numeracy centres, fine motor stations, or play trays.

Teaching Math With Number Playdough Mats

Number Playdough mats are low prep and a wonderful addition to Math centres. They’re just what you need to encourage students to practise early number skills including:

Counting Process:

In everyday use the term “counting” has two meanings, firstly to recite the number names, one, two, three, four etc… But it also means being able to check how many are in a collection, which involves very different skills to the first meaning! 

For children to use the counting strategy to find out “how many/” they need to be explicitly taught The 5 Counting Principles.

These five counting principles are:

1. Stable Order: Understanding the verbal sequence of counting; being able to say the number names in sequential order
2. One-to-One Correspondence: Understanding that when saying the names of the numbers in sequence, each object receives one count and only one count
3. Cardinality: Understanding that the last number spoken in a counting sequence names the quantity for that set
4. Abstraction: Understanding that it doesn’t matter what you count, how we count stays the same. For example, any set of objects can be counted as a set, regardless of whether they are the same colour, shape, size, etc. This can also include non-physical things such as sounds, imaginary objects, etc.
5. Order Irrelevance: Knowledge that the order that items are counted in is irrelevant—left-to-right, right-to-left, in a random fashion—as long as every object in the set is given one count and only one count.  (Gelman and Galistel, 1978) 

Number Identification:

Being able to recognise and identify numbers in a range of formats:

• Numbers as digits 0-30
• Numbers as words 0-30
• Numbers as a quantity 0-30

Make A Collection:

All you need to do is provide some playdough, counters , math manipulatives and print and laminate the math mats.

If you’re not into laminating you should try dry erase sleeves for durability. They are very affordable on Amazon, here’s our Amazon Partners link, take a look at our favourite Dry Erase Sleeves.

Each set of Number Playdough mats includes numbers 0-30 and has several different designs with and without ten frames, as digits, number words and in a range of tracing & writing fonts.

Start downloading & get organised for your next math centre or counting play tray!

Related Post: Quick and Easy Playdough Recipe

What’s Included?

Download these number playdough mats to help your students become confident and fluent with numbers 0-30. There are 2 different fonts,

1. Trace font
2. Letter formation font

Each font has the following variations:

1. Number Words 0-30 (No Counting Images)
2. Number Words 0-30 (Counting Images)
3. Number Digits 0-30 – Ten Frames (Empty)
4. Number Digits 0-30 – Ten Frames (Filled)
5. Get Me & Count Mats

Each Number Playdough mat comes in a range of themes from Ants to Ladybirds, Watermelons, Pirates, Unicorns and more! 

How to Use:

Print and laminate the mats, or use them in dry erase sleeves for repeated practice. Add playdough, counters, or mini objects to create an interactive learning station. Perfect for maths centres and home learning too.

Click the images for More Themed Number Playdough Mats…