Playdough mats happen to be one of my favorite ways to work on building words. They can be flexible to meet the needs of the child you are working with.
I know my girls and I just love using them. You can give them a list of words and they can build the words on the mat! These are great word building activities.
These CVC Word Family Playdough Mats are a great help to kids learning to read.
We have included links to some of the products and resources we have used with this activity. If you purchase via the links we may earn a small commission.
These are mats are really simple and easy for you to use. That is what learning should be simple and easy.
We use playdough lot with our learning. You can add this simple sensory play to learning.

Things to use with the CVC Word Family Playough Mats
These are just a few of the items we use with the mats and to help prepare the mats.
- printer
- white cardstock
- color cardstock
- playdough
- laminator
- laminating pouches
- sheet protectors
- dry erase markers
- unifix cubes
- glass gems
- CVC Word Family Wall Cards
- Wilton Cookie Cutters Set, 101-Piece — Alphabet, Numbers and Holiday Cookie Cutters
Ways to use these CVC Word Family Playdough Mats
Each of the mats is simple and easy to print and use. I like to show a few ways to use these mats beyond playdough. Because I know not every kid likes it but they are such a good learning tool.
I like to show how I use these mats as a learning center. I give them one mat. You can see the printable in a sheet protector so I can switch them out often but if you use them a lot them I recommend laminating
.
I give them playdough and a CVC Word Family Wall Card to help them with a list of words to build.

You can have a fun time making playdough snakes and then building the letters. If you need words don’t forget the CVC Word Family Wall Card. It lets kids know what letters to make for that word family ending.

If your kids are not into making playdough snakes you can have a them smash the playdough flat and use the alphabet cookie cutters to make the letters. Super simple and fun. PLus you can provide them with letters that match the wall cards.

You can skip the playdough and just use the alphabet cookie cutters to build the words. They can switch out the letters on the mat.

Because the mat is in a sheet protector you can just write on the mat with a dry erase marker
. They can write a letter wipe it off and write the next one.

You can also use other small items to build the letters. We love using glass gems. It is a great fine motor activity and they can still build the word. We have also used unifix cubes
.

CVC Word Family Playdough Mats Selling Set
Now if you are looking for more CVC word family endings or different options for the mat check out the selling set. It has 39 endings and two options for each mat.
You have the letters as above plus an outline of the word family ending.

CVC Word Family Playdough Mats Selling set
Grab all the playdough mats at one time in this selling set. It has additional mats plus a different option for the mat.
What you will find in the CVC Playdough Mats Selling Set
- 39 different word family endings
- Two options of mats per word family ending
- CVC Playdough Mats are included: -ab, -ad, -ag, -am, -an, -ar, -at, -ax, ay, -eb, -ed, -em, -en, -et, -ib, -id, -ig, -im, -in, -ip, -it, -ob, -od, -og, -om, -op, -ot, -ow, -ox -oy, – ub, -ud, -ug, -um, -un, -up, -ut
- Price: $2.50
What you will find in the free CVC Word Family Playdough Mats
- 24 different words family endings
- The Following word families: -ad, -ag, -am, -an, -ar, -at, ay, -ed, -en, -et, -ig, -in, -ip, -it, -og, -op, -ot, -ow, -ox -oy, -ug, -un, -ut
- The downloads on are individual pages
Click here to get the -ag CVC Playdough Mat
Click here to get the -am CVC Playdough Mat
Click here to get the -an CVC Playdough Mat
Click here to get the -ap CVC Playdough Mat
Click here to get the -ar CVC Playdough Mat
Click here to get the -at CVC Playdough Mat
Click here to get the -ay CVC Playdough Mat
Click here to get the -ed CVC Playdough Mat
Click here to get the -en CVC Playdough Mat
Click here to get the -et CVC Playdough Mat
Click here to get the -ig CVC Playdough Mat
Click here to get the -in CVC Playdough Mat
Click here to get the -ip CVC Playdough Mat
Click here to get the -it CVC Playdough Mat
Click here to get the -og CVC Playdough Mat
Click here to get the -op CVC Playdough Mat
Click here to get the -ot CVC Playdough Mat
Click here to get the -ow CVC Playdough Mat
Click here to get the -ox CVC Playdough Mat
Click here to get the -oy CVC Playdough Mat
Click here to get the -ug CVC Playdough Mat
Also check out these other CVC Word Family Printables:
- CVC Word Family Wall Cards
- CVC Word Family Ladder Printables
- Early Reading Printables: BOB Books Rhyming Words Books 1 & 2
Cassie – 3Dinosaurs.com
These are great Cassie!
Thanks we love using them!
Those look like lots of fun to practice word families and silly words!
Hi Cassie, I can’t thank you enough for all the amazing things you have come up with and made available to us!!! These have proven to truly be a lifesaver for us!!! That being said I am having some technical difficulties accessing the playdoh mats. I specifically was after the -ig family and received an error and was unable to print. I tried another family and received the same error, like a broken link. Please let me know how to proceed.
Thanks,
Kristie
I’m checked the files and it did have a wrong link for some of them. They are now fixed so try it again.