Looking for a fun and engaging mermaid playdough tray idea? This colorful mermaid-themed sensory activity combines playdough, seashells, gems, and mermaid figures to create an exciting under-the-sea play experience for toddlers and preschoolers. This might be the perfect summer playdough tray! Find more Sensory play ideas here.

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Why you’ll love this mermaid playdough tray

Playdough trays are a fantastic way to encourage imaginative play, creativity, and fine motor skill development while keeping little ones entertained. Children can create underwater worlds, build homes for their mermaids, hunt for hidden treasure, and invent their own magical ocean adventures.

Mermaids, sea creatures and anything beach related are perfect summer activities for kids. Which summer theme does your preschooler love most?

Supplies you’ll need for this mermaid play dough tray

Here are the supplies you’ll need to set up this summer playdoh tray for your child.

Playdough in ocean-inspired colors
Seashells painted in bright colors
Dyed pasta
Acrylic gems (we also love these seaside inspired gems)
Toy mermaids
Tray or divided wooden tray
Playdough tools

I’ve also spotted this mermaid playdough kit that you might like.

Round wooden tray filled with mermaid playdough activity materials including colorful shells, blue gems, mermaid figurines, playdough in purple, blue, and green, toy scissors, and playdough tools. The organized sensory play setup provides loose parts for creating underwater mermaid scenes.

Mermaid playdough tray

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Active Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Difficulty: easy

Estimated Cost: low cost

No Ratings

Materials

Playdough in ocean-inspired colors
Seashells painted in bright colors
Dyed pasta
Acrylic gems
Toy mermaids

Tools

Tray or divided wooden tray
Playdough tools

Instructions

Prepare several colors of playdough in the center of the tray.
Paint seashells in bright beachy colors and let them dry completely before adding to the tray.
Dye pasta in fun ocean shades and allow it to dry before adding it to the tray too.
Fill each section of the tray with gems, shells, pasta, and mermaids.
Invite kids to squish, roll, flatten, and decorate the playdough to create underwater mermaid worlds.
Kids can press shells into the dough to make patterns, build coral reefs with pasta, and hide sparkling gems beneath the “sea.” You can sit back and watch their imaginations.

Child uses a rolling pin while creating a mermaid playdough scene with a blonde mermaid figurine, colorful shells, and textured sea themed pieces pressed into green playdough. The hands on activity encourages imaginative play and fine motor skill development through open ended sensory exploration.

How kids can play with this mermaid playdough tray

You might find that your child dives straight in and doesn’t need any ideas for how to play with this playdough tray. If they do need some ideas though, there are loads of ideas below.

Create an Underwater Mermaid World

Children can flatten the blue playdough to create an ocean and then decorate it with shells, gems and mermaids. They might build a mermaid kingdom, a hidden lagoon or an underwater palace where the mermaids live.

Hide and Find Treasure

The blue gems make perfect underwater treasure. Hide them inside the playdough and encourage your child to dig, squish and pull the playdough apart to find the hidden jewels.

Child points to colorful shells and sea themed pieces arranged around a pink haired mermaid figurine on blue playdough during a mermaid playdough activity. Bright gems, textured materials, and ocean inspired loose parts create an engaging sensory play scene that encourages imaginative storytelling.

Make Homes for the Mermaids

Children can use the playdough to create beds, caves, castles or gardens for their mermaids. They may even want to build separate homes for each mermaid and decorate them with colorful shells and treasures.

Sort and Organise the Shells

Invite your child to sort the shells by color, size or shape. They could even create patterns around the edge of the playdough.

Decorate the Ocean Floor

Press shells, gems and other loose parts into the playdough to create a colorful underwater scene. Children can experiment with different arrangements and designs, encouraging creativity and problem-solving.

Create Mermaid Adventures

The mermaids can go on exciting adventures beneath the sea. Perhaps they are searching for treasure, rescuing sea creatures or exploring a secret underwater cave. Encourage your child to make up stories as they play.

Wooden sorting tray prepared for a mermaid playdough activity with colorful playdough, shells, blue gems, toy scissors, and textured sea themed loose parts. The organized sensory materials invite children to build underwater mermaid worlds while exploring colors, textures, and creative play.

Practise Counting Skills

Count the shells, gems and mermaids together. You could ask:

How many blue gems can you find?
Can you collect five shells?
How many treasures are hidden in the ocean?

Explore Textures and Patterns

Children can press the shells into the playdough to create interesting patterns and textures. Rolling, squashing and stamping the playdough provides lots of sensory play opportunities.

Create a Mermaid Treasure Hunt

Hide gems and shells throughout the playdough and challenge your child to find them all. You can make it more exciting by giving clues or asking them to find specific colors.

Benefits of this mermaid playdough tray

I love sensory play as kids just think they are having fun but really they are learning through play. Here are some of the ways that this activity can benefit your child.

Strengthens fine motor skills

Fine motor skills are so important for building hand strength needed for writing and everyday tasks. This activity strengthens fine motor skills through rolling, pinching, and pressing the playdough.

Pink haired mermaid figurine surrounded by colorful shells, blue gems, and sea themed pieces arranged on light blue playdough during a mermaid playdough activity. The underwater inspired sensory play scene encourages imaginative storytelling and creative exploration with ocean themed materials.

Encourages imaginative play and storytelling

Adding the mermaids to playdough (especially if your child loves mermaids) really encourages your little one to make up stories using the mermaids. You could even join in with this too or perhaps ask them questions to get them started.

Questions such as “What are your mermaids called?”, “Where do they live?” and “What adventure are they going on today?” can help spark your child’s imagination and encourage them to develop their storytelling, language and communication skills while they play.

Supports sensory exploration

With lots of different textures and materials within this playdough tray, there is lots of opportunity for sensory exploration. You can encourage this or simply let them play and experience the textures, sights and smells.

Another great idea with this play dough that further supports sensory exploration is this Rainbow Play Dough Color Mixing activity.

Wooden sorting tray set up for a mermaid playdough activity with colorful playdough, seashells, spiral shells, mermaid figurines, toy scissors, and playdough tools arranged in separate compartments. The organized sensory play materials make it easy for children to create imaginative underwater scenes and explore different textures and colors.

Inspires creativity and open-ended play

I love that playdough encourages open-ended play as it can be used in so many different ways. Each time you set this tray up, your child might play with it differently. Changing one of the tools or accessories can also change the play completely.

All the colorful playdough and different additions encourages your child to create different scenes using their imagination and developing their creativity.

Child presses colorful shells, gems, and sea themed pieces into purple playdough during a mermaid playdough activity. A miniature mermaid scene with bright sensory materials encourages creative storytelling and fine motor practice through hands on play.

Supervision reminder

Always supervise young children during this activity to make sure they don’t put anything they shouldn’t in their mouths.

Two small mermaid figures sit in a colorful playdough sensory tray surrounded by bright shells, sea plants, and gem shaped treasures. Text on the image reads "PLAYDOH MERMAID TRAY" and "theladybirdsadventures.co.uk".

More summer activities for kids

Another playdough activity is my Seaside themed play dough activity.

If you are looking for a craft then you’ll love this shark paper bag craft

You might also like these Sea life coloring pages

Create your own beach footprint painting

Kid's activities

Mermaid Playdough Tray