Looking for a simple way to teach emotions and a sense of self? These Playdough Face Mats are the perfect low-prep resource designed to bring social-emotional learning (SEL), creativity, and hands-on exploration into your classroom.

We use them for sensory play with playdough or loose parts. You can use them with dry erase markers too.

Whether you’re starting your All About Me unit or setting up a calm-down corner, these mats will bring intentional play to your classroom and help foster self-awareness and emotional literacy in your students – all while saving you precious planning time!

Develop Creativity and Emotional Learning with these Playdough Face Mats

At the start of each school year, I use these mats during our All About Me unit in HASS (History). Watching my students create facial expressions and talk about emotions was eye-opening. One child used googly eyes to make a "worried face," leading to a rich group discussion about what it feels like to be nervous. This simple activity turned into a powerful learning opportunity where my students explored emotions, facial expressions, and their own identities using playdough and loose parts.

Save Time and Simplify Your SEL Activities

Forget spending hours planning how to teach emotions or hunting for engaging SEL activities. These print-and-go Playdough Face Mats are designed to:

• Save you hours of prep with ready-to-use blank face templates.

• Foster creativity and fine motor development through hands-on play.

• Encourage meaningful conversations about emotions and self-identity.

• Foster inclusion with diverse skin tones and hairstyles, ensuring all children feel represented.

Designed to be used more than once, this pack supports play-based learning and SEL in countless ways. You’ll love how easy it is to incorporate these mats into your teaching routine, whether you're focusing on art, fine motor skills, or emotional literacy.

This Playdough and Loose Parts Play Resource Includes:

• 26 blank face templates with diverse skin tones and hairstyles (13 male, 13 female).

• 4 printable learning prompts to guide purposeful exploration and learning.

• Ideas for loose parts that are perfect for creating faces ( materials you’ll have on hand like googly eyes, yarn, or playdough).

• Teacher discussion starters to help you effortlessly connect to the curriculum.

• 4 assessment checklists for tracking emotional literacy and fine motor progress.

• 6 student recording sheets for self-reflection and documentation.

• Document wallet label to keep everything organised and accessible.

How to Use These Playdough Face Mats

Use these printable mats for:

• Morning tabletop activities or small group rotations.

• Calm-down areas to support self-regulation.

• Loose parts play or sensory exploration.

• All About Me units and activities.

• Developing fine motor skills through playdough activities.

• Writing centres as story starters or visual prompts.

• Social-emotional discussions about facial expressions and feelings.

• Character Education to teach social skills and emotional intelligence.

Simply print, laminate, and invite your students to explore emotions and self-identity in a hands-on, creative way. Use them with dry-erase markers, loose parts, or playdough for endless possibilities!

Reap the Benefits of Hands-on, Play-Based Learning

With these resources, your students will be deeply engaged, creating unique faces, and discussing how different emotions are expressed. You’ll easily be able to create hands-on learning activities that turn everyday play into powerful teaching moments.

So Download your Playdough Face Mats today and make teaching SEL engaging, inclusive, and stress-free!