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Tuesday, 7 May 2013

Toddler craft activity - Playing With Shapes in Salt Dough!!

We love salt dough creations but check out the fun a toddler can have exploring shapes, sizes and textures in the soft squishy salt dough! It keeps them entertained for ages,  its non-toxic, easy to mould and re-mould for little hands, quick and cheap as chips to make from things lying around in a kitchen cupboard.  For a young toddler who loves getting her hands into everything, salt dough was a perfect medium instead of play dough as we got to cook, paint and keep some of the end results afterwards which will last forever !!!

   


Step 1 -  To make up the dough, you'll need:1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt and 1/3 cup water with some extra flour for dusting surface).  

 You can get the kids involved in this step too - its messy but really great sensory experience for them as they turn gooey flour and water into a salty dough. 


Step 2-  find random objects from around the house.. I found some cookie cutters, blunt cutlery, pencils, jam jars and stamps. You could use whatever is appropriate for them to play with bearing in mind their ages. 

 Step 3-  let them loose! my daughter played about with different items in the dough for absolutely ages which was brilliant - it kept her busy, entertained and learning new shapes and textures. Here's the results of one afternoon's play .........






Step 4 - depending on what is left at the end of the play, or what you manage to rescue from them in between squishing sessions :o) place any 'ornaments' they have made on a floured baking sheet. Don't forget to make a hole at the top if you plan on hanging up your ornament on a wall or tree.  

 Step 5 - Cook on a low temperature for a couple of hours until the dough shape has hardened and sounds hollow when tapped. (approx. 50-100 Celcius works and it will take about s 4-6 hours depending on the thickness of the ornament). Leave to cool. 

 Step 6 - paint and glitter... this is another day's fun altogether.


 Just check out the results of the letter painting we did  here!! 




More ideas of what you can make with Salt Dough can be found on our blog on these pages: