Making salt dough ornaments is one of my favorite toddler activities this time of year! Salt dough is also a great low-cost, child safe alternative to play-dough any time of the year, as long as your little one is past the eating stage - consuming too much sodium isn't good for toddlers and can be dangerous under the age of one, and flour should never be eaten raw. Always supervise small children when playing with modelling dough!
You will need:
1 cup flour (+ up to one cup more as needed to reach the right consistency)
1 cup salt
1/2 cup water
Utensils:
Bowl and mixing spoon
Clean surface for rolling out dough
Oven or toaster oven
Foil or parchment paper
Cookie sheet
Optional:
Cookie cutters (I love these with the handles, as manipulating a cookie cutter can be challenging for little hands.)
As always when working with toddlers, I recommend setting out everything you will need and pre-measuring ingredients before inviting the child to join. Older children (3+up) may enjoy helping you measure from a larger container, but young toddlers lack the fine motor and self control necessary to handle the whole container of flour, for instance.
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in the mixing bowl and stir until a dough forms. Knead by hand for a few moments, adding flour as needed, until the dough feels smooth and is no longer sticking to your hands. You're ready to play!
Baby D. practicing those fine motor skills with salt dough.
We used our latest batch of salt dough to make Christmas ornaments. If you choose to make something with your dough that you want to keep, bake it in the oven at the lowest temperature (150/200 F) for a few hours, checking every now and then. Salt dough is finished baking when it is hard and dry - if it's turning brown try lowering the temperature.
Older toddlers may enjoy helping to cut out shapes, but it's completely fine if, like baby D. here, they simply do free play with their own portion. The child-led portion of this art project will be painting the ornaments. Since we'll be hanging these up, I poked holes with the end of a chopstick.
If you have leftovers or choose not to bake your creations, salt dough will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week (you will know when it's gone off - it will be slimy and smelly.)
Our finished product! We painted these with non-toxic fingerpaints and these great chubby brushes (good for little hands!) I didn't seal them, but if they're going to be handled by children or you're concerned about paint transfer, I would recommend sealing them with mod podge.
Happy crafting!
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