Modelling is one of the favorite pastimes of children. It develops fine motor skills, sensory perception, and the child's imagination. Starting from simple shapes (a ball, a sausage) at the age of 1-1.5 years, the toddler gradually moves on to creating their first masterpieces: figures of animals, people, cars, and fairy tale characters.
For modelling, materials such as plasticine, polymer clay, and wax can be used. However, the best medium for sculpting with the littlest ones is salt dough. Why? Toddlers under two years old love to try everything "by mouth" — of all the listed modelling materials, dough is the safest in this regard, as it contains no unnatural components (additives, dyes, etc.) and can rightly be considered the most eco-friendly material for sculpting.
How to Make Salt Dough for Modelling?
Ingredients:
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2 cups of flour,
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1 cup of fine salt,
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3 tablespoons of vegetable oil,
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hot water.
Preparation:
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Dissolve the salt in water, then knead the dough in the salt solution.
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At the end of kneading, add the vegetable oil. The dough should be firm, sufficiently elastic, but not stick to your hands.
Salt dough for modelling can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. To do this, it should be placed in a plastic container and tightly closed or well wrapped in cling film. If the dough becomes too liquid after such storage, simply add a bit of flour and knead it again.
Salt dough for modelling can be made colorful by adding food coloring (remember those packets of food coloring that are sold everywhere during Easter?) or natural juices – vegetable and fruit juices. For the latter, cherry juice (for red), beet juice (for brown), carrot juice (for yellow), cocoa (for brown), and blackcurrant juice (for purple) work well.
