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My tip this week is a fun one for the younger kids at your house and it’s something I fondly remember doing with my own mother as a child.
There are many commercially sold modeling clay compound available on the market, but did you know that you can make your own modeling “dough” with ingredients found in your own kitchen?
It’s simple. It’s fun. Plus, I feel a lot better about a child sticking this type of clay, which is basically made with food ingredients, into their mouth. (Yes, I know that some of the commercial modeling clay preparations are non-toxic – but are the ingredients in them really good for your child?)
I wish that I still had the modeling dough recipe that my mother used. However, thanks to Google, I was able to find some very similar recipes online. Here is a page at Playtime for Toddlers with multiple modeling dough recipes. Based on my memories, I think the one that my mother made for us as children is called “Salt Dough.”
There are a few tips that I have for using the dough:
- Make sure that your children clean their hands before using the dough. This will help protect the dough from contamination.
- Since the dough is made of food stuff, it can spoil if you’re not going to bake it or let it harden permanently. My mother always kept ours in the refrigerator between uses.
- Discard old dough. Again, since the dough is made of food stuff it can go bad. After about three days in the refrigerator, my mother threw the stuff out and made a new batch.
Have fun!
Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved
