Welcome! We’re Excited You’re Here.
Making Learning Fun, Easy, and Unforgettable!
What if teaching didn’t have to feel so overwhelming?
Imagine walking into your classroom with a plan that works, resources that make learning exciting, and students who can’t wait to dive in. Sounds pretty amazing, right?
That’s exactly what we do at Playdough to Plato!
We’re here to help Pre-K to second-grade teachers bring BIG learning to little learners—without the stress. Whether it’s reading, math, STEM, or science, we’ve got your back with fun, easy-to-use activities that actually work.
Why We Do This
We’ve been in your shoes.
We know what it’s like to search for the right resources, only to waste time on activities that are either too hard, too easy, or just plain ineffective.
That’s why we create science-backed, teacher-approved resources that make learning stick—while keeping kids engaged and excited.
What Makes Us Different?
At Playdough to Plato, we believe learning should be:
SIMPLE
No fluff, no filler—just the best tools that save you time planning and teaching.
FUN
Kids learn best when they’re engaged, so we make lessons playful and exciting!
EFFECTIVE
Our activities are grounded in research and designed to help kids succeed.
Meet the Team
Hey there! I’m Malia, the founder of Playdough to Plato—a Starbucks-loving, red-nail-polish-wearing, Sharpie-obsessed former teacher on a mission to make learning fun and easy.
Back in the classroom, I spent way too much time searching for lessons that actually worked. I wanted activities that were simple, engaging, and—most importantly—effective. But finding them? Nearly impossible.
So, I created Playdough to Plato to take the guesswork out of teaching. From phonics to math, STEM to science, we’ve got science-backed, ready-to-go resources designed to save you time and help your students thrive.
And the best part? We make it FUN. Because when kids love learning, magic happens.
I’m lucky to work with an incredible team of educators who share my passion for making your job easier—so you can spend less time planning and more time changing lives.
Let’s make learning simple, powerful, and oh-so-fun!
THE PHONICS STARTER KIT
Not sure where to start? This FREE starter kit gives you everything you need to teach phonics with confidence. Get a step-by-step sequence, ready-to-use activities, and a simple system that makes reading instruction easy and effective.
THE PHONICS TOOLKIT
Once you see the power of the free starter kit, you’ll love The Phonics Toolkit! It’s a done-for-you system packed with lessons, hands-on activities, and easy-to-follow routines that take the guesswork out of teaching phonics.
THE FORMULA MEMBERSHIP
Imagine having every science of reading resource in one place. The Science of Reading Formula gives you expert training, classroom-ready materials, and a supportive teacher community—so you can help every student succeed with ease.
Hi Malia! I was so excited to read your blog. I have three children. The two oldest are teenagers. Our youngest was a “surprise” and is 3 1/2 years old. I never expected to have another child and look at him as a huge blessing to our family. He has brought such joy to our household with his wonderful personality. I have decided that this time around I am going to keep him home with me instead of sending him to preschool. He is my last one (I think ;)) and I want to enjoy every second with him until he starts kindergarten. I have been trying a very structured curriculum kit by Mother Goose Time but Jadon is really stuggling with the structure and I am not feeling like it is a good fit for us. I have been scouring the internet for fun ways to teach Jadon and that is how I stumbled upon your site. Jadon is very active and loves to play games so a lot of your activities are perfect for him! I am so excited to start the 10 week class! Jadon is still learning to recognize letter consistently but right now is really into reading and we are always pointing and naming letters and he seems to be picking them up quick!
Love your site!
Kiana Nafziger
Hi Kiana,
I’m so happy that you took the time to introduce yourself and tell me about your family. Thank you! Your youngest son sounds a lot like my 3 year old – active and always up for games. Jadon seems like a great fit for Plato Academy and I’m thrilled that you joined the class. Please keep me posted on his progress and let me know about any questions that pop up along the way in the comment section of each class. I’m off to visit your site now {Kids, Dogs and Ticks}. 🙂
Malia
Malia – I am a mom of 3 – a beautiful 7 year old girl, and 2 super hero boys aged 4 and 2. Life is busy but wonderful and I anxiously await morning so we can play some of the “games” I found on your site tonight! He-he!! My 7 year old is still really struggling with reading. Honestly, she HATES to sound out words – and has just decided she is bad at it. We enrolled her in Kumon which seems to have helped some. Any thoughts about where I should START to try and help her? All of your ideas look so fun! We have tried so many things – but she just doesn’t enjoy it – and now it has become a confidence issue. Thanks for any advice you may have.
Hi Haylee,
Your family sounds amazing! I can only imagine that your super hero boys and beautiful 7 year old bring a smile to your face all day long.
Re: helping your girl gain reading confidence. A couple of thoughts come to mind-
1. She may still be struggling with letter sounds. Do you have a set of alphabet flashcards lying around? If not, write down all 26 letters in random order on a piece of paper. Then ask her to name all of the letters and give you their sounds. Once you know the letters that are still tricky, you can teach them to her using any of the games listed under “Fun with Letters” at this link: https://www.playdoughtoplato.com/kindergarten-activities/
2. Sometimes helping kids gain confidence can be as simple as making a few small tweaks. First, I like to remind kids that readers read PICTURES too. Pick up a wordless book like “Wave” or “Hug” and use the pictures to tell a story. For example, “I see the gorilla walking through the jungle by himself. I wonder where his parents are hiding. Hmmm… Oh, and I now I see him looking at two snakes hugging in a tree. The snakes look so happy hugging each other. Look at their smiles!” Kids are often blown away that they can read without sounding out a single letter.
And second, I call my kids “readers” as often as I can. When we are walking to the car I’ll say, “Ok readers, please hop in!” Or when dinner is over, I’ll say, “Please take your plate to the sink, readers!” Sometimes just hearing someone else call them readers helps kids believe that they really can do it.
I hope that helps! Please feel free to send me an email or post a comment any time. And if your daughter is still struggling after you try these ideas, I’m happy to brainstorm some next steps too. 🙂
Malia
Hi,
My name is Renee and I am a stay at home mum from Brisbane, QLD Australia.
I have two beautiful daughters aged 7 and 4. My eldest is in Grade 2 and my youngest goes to Kindy 2 days a week. She will be starting Prep ( 1st year of school) next year.
I love reading your activities and look forward to starting some of them with my youngest child to help her get ready for school. I am also a qualified child care assistant and am doing further study to become a group leader . These activities will really come in handy when I start back at work next year.
Thanks !
Renee
Hi Renee! Thank you so much for taking the time to introduce me to your family and tell me about your child care work. It’s always fun to learn more about readers.
Australia is one of my favorite places on Earth. I’ve been there twice now and hope to return again when my boys are a little older.
I’m sending a warm, long distance welcome your way!
Talk to you soon,
Malia
Hello ladies!
I am a 20 year old, currently doing my apprenticeship as an ECE in Junior Kindergarten, Senior Kindergarten split class. I want to thank you guys so much for giving me a few ideas on different activities that would work with some of my more unique students, I honestly cannot thank you two enough for the hard work you both do. I would honestly love to have teachers like you for my children when they get to school. Because I would be confident that they would not only learn necessities but also grow as human beings.
Thank you again,
Danielle
Hi Danielle! Thank you so much for taking the time to introduce yourself. We’re thrilled to welcome another early childhood educator to Playdough to Plato and love knowing that the activities are helpful to you. Your students are incredibly lucky to have you!!
Appreciatively,
Malia
Hi Malia- My name is Jo-Anne and teaching is my second career. I have been teaching in a large urban system since 2002 and have taught 2nd, Pre-K, 4th, K, 1st, and hopefully will be teaching Pre-K again next year. I have 3 college-aged and one who is already a teacher on her own. I love working with the young children, and love ideas that I have seen on your blog. I plan to work over the summer to plan out my lessons. I want to make them fun, creative, hands on, and developmentally appropriate.
Thank you for sharing your great ideas!
Thank you for the vet printables. I too am allergic to animals but have a daughter that is dog crazy. I must say at first I wondered if you homeschool when I because where being inventive and excited about seeing your childrens light bulbs going off. I do homeschool and was once an art teacher and art therapist. It is great you have such love for what you do.
Good Luck
I’m excited to hear that the vet printables will come in handy, Joy!! Thanks for saying “hello”.
Hi Ladies,
I am a 30-something mama, to a smart and handsome 5 year old boy. This year we started our home school pre-k. We were just getting our feet wet with the home schooling. I came across your blog and instantly loved the games and activities I was seeing for teaching. I immediately subscribed to your email! I am looking forward to trying out the games and incorporating some fun into our school work. Thank you for sharing your gift with us! Clearly you are blessed with an amazing talent!
~ Danielle
Hi Danielle,
Thank you so much for taking the time to introduce yourself. Your son is lucky to have such a hands-on, involved mom.
I’m thrilled that Playdough to Plato’s activities have been useful! Please let us know if you ever need help brainstorming ways to teach a specific skill. We always love helping our homeschooling mamas. 🙂
Talk to you soon,
Malia
Hello everyone. I am a mama to two awesome sons one just graduated from Cal Poly Univ. with his BS in business and marketing which comes in handy for me advertising my preschool, lol. My other is still in college studying to be a Early Educator. Married for 26 years to my soul mate. I own and operate a Pre-K/Daycare facility in sunny Cali.. I have been teaching now for 25 years. I was so excited to find your site. I have been in such a rut the last year. You have just rejuvenated My brain and gave me the kick start I so needed. Can’t wait to implement so many of your ideas into my new program. You are a true blessing. I attached my link to my website but it is still in the works no words yet. Should be fully finished by the end of july. Thank you. God Bless.
Hi Malia!
I am a mama to a beautiful and smart almost-4-yr-old, and am excited to make more use of your site! It looks like a great way to teach young ones in a fun and “non-school” kinda way 🙂 Just what my daughter would gravitate toward, as I’ve tried teaching her things in a more structured way at one point and she totally didn’t take to it, whereas learning through play and hands-on activities do wonderful things for children! Thank you for sharing your love for teaching and creativity with the rest of us! 🙂
Hi Tara!! I’m so excited to read that Playdough to Plato’s activities will be a hit with your daughter. Thank you for taking the time to introduce yourself and please let me know if any questions ever pop up along the way. 🙂
Hello, i am a dutch mother with 2 kids. Resantly i lost my daughter. She was only 20 years old. I am a teatcher and my children in the class are 4, 5, 6 years old. Sorry, my english isn’t so good.
I like your site. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Hi Malia.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with the world! I think I first saw one of your ideas on No Time For Flash Cards and have been checking out your site since then. I am a mom to two boys, ages 6 1/2 and almost 4. Before having children, I taught elementary school for 7 1/2 years, earned my Masters in Reading and became certified as a Reading Specialist. When we started our family I knew I wanted to be home with them and raise them full time. I still however love to teach and learn about different ways to teach concepts to children. I still read professional books about teaching! One of my passions is reading children’s books. Since my oldest son has been born we have literally read thousands of pictures books/chapter books!
At my son’s school I had a mini seminar for parents about reading and shared some of your game ideas with them. I also recommended your blog to them. Then this summer I taught at a Reading Club at his school and provided a link of your blog on our Club’s Shutterfly website. So thank you for being generous with your knowledge and ideas. You are impacting a lot of children and adults-more than you will probably ever realize!!
Hi Krista,
Wow!! I am deeply touched by your note and am moved that Playdough to Plato has been a source of inspiration for your family and other people in your community. Given your background, I know that you share my commitment to making learning fun and effective for kids. Thank you very, very much for taking the time to introduce yourself and say “hello”.
I hope you enjoy the last few weeks of summer and please let me know if we can ever help brainstorm activities for a specific skill you’re working on with your boys. 🙂
Talk to you soon,
Malia
jocelyn.non001@deped.gov.ph
Hello – I am probably quite a bit older than the majority of your followers, but I am excited to be here. I have recently agreed to homeschool my 4-year-old granddaughter for a year. We are living in Venezuela. The schooling options are not the best. The government keeps trying to take over more and more of the curriculum, including political propaganda and transforming history as they go. My daughter hopes to return to the US next school year so we want Emma to be ready for kindergarten in English. Finding your pages has given me a shot of confidence. I have a Masters in Linguistics from way back when and English teaching experience, but it’s been a while since I worked on an introductory level. I’m looking forward to your posts and so glad for your guidance.
Hi Malia,
I think it’s pretty cool that many educators have found alternative ways to follow their passion. I am a certified teacher also, but I will honestly admit that I enjoy teaching at home better.
Normally I do not learn post on blogs, but I wish to say that this write-up very pressured me to take
a look at and do it! Your writing taste has been amazed me.
Thanks, quite great article.
Thank you so much for the links to my purchase this morning! Our two little ones are going to love the 10 printable books and the 15 Editable Word Games. I am very pleased with the quality of the downloadable books and games!
I really appreciate how quickly you addressed the online shopping glitch! You have great service as well as great products.
Looking forward to spending some quality learning time with my littles as we work through these books and games this summer.
Hi!
I purchased your 32 Sight Word Games – EDITABLE on TPT, and I love it and use it at least weekly with my daughter, but there is an error with the fishing game – which is my daughter’s favorite game. Could you please fix it? Just as an example, when I type the letters A-R in the “getting started” page, what generates into the fish is : a, b, c, d, e, f, m, n, o, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r. In other words, “m,n,o” is repeated on the fish twice, and “g,h,i” aren’t on any of the fish. So we miss at least 3 sight words. The same error is on “Going on a Word Hunt.” Thank you for your help! I love the file aside from the errors, and I recommended it to a lot of people! 🙂
Just found your Playdough to Plato and it is a God send. Seeking help with an art workshop, I recently offered to my granddaughter’s preschool camp class. I am an artist, child psychotherapist and children’s art teacher.
We are so glad that you are finding helpful resources on the blog, Suzanne! Fingers crossed you found some fun activities to do with those preschoolers. That sounds like a blast!
Warmly,
Kaylee // Playdough to Plato Team
Respected Malia,
You are doing a wonderful job! I am very pleased to learn about your activities! Soon, I’ll meet you!
I appreciate your good deed! Be happy and healthy!
HI! I just finished your book on audible and I can’t remember what the website is for the free resources that you mention. Could you please share that with me?? The book was an amazing resource. I plan to share it with the other reading teachers in my building. Thank you for all of the great ideas!
Hi! When I taught at the International School of Brussels, Bxl, Belgium, I would get weekly emails from your site. Now, back in Michigan teaching, I’d like to start receiving the emails, but I don’t see where to sign up at.
Is this not a possibility anymore?
Merci,
Sara
Hi Sara!
Welcome back! We’d love for you to hop on our email list. You can do that by downloading any of our freebies from our blog. Can’t wait for you to see all of the goodness we send out each week!
Warmly,
Alex