A great bit of art idea to have under your belt is the Salt dough. This dough is easy to make and it is made from items found in your cupboard. And the great thing is that if you have made too much you can wrap it up and keep it in your fridge for the next time. Salt dough can be cut into different shapes and once dry you can paint it and have fun. The best paint to use is poster paint.
Salt dough is brilliant because it is totally made of natural ingredients. If your child decides to taste it – it would not harm them! All they would do is pull a face from the salty taste.
Salt dough is great for creating decorations. Instead of buying something in the shop, mix up the salt dough with the kids. Then cut up the dough with dough cutters. For this time of the year, the shapes would be of Easter Eggs or Bunnies or Chicks. Don’t forget to pierce a hole at the top of the shape while it’s still wet. This is so that you can put a piece of ribbon/string through it and hang it up.
And now for the great household arty Salt dough recipe:
Salt Dough Recipe
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup salt
1 cup cold water
Directions: In a large bowl, mix table salt and flour together. Gradually add 1/2 cup of water and mix to desired consistency. Knead the dough on a flat surface, adding a few more drops of water as needed (but not making it too moist).
Once the dough is made, roll it into 3mm thick pieces with a rolling pin. Use dough cutters to cut into the shape of your choice, and place the shapes on wax paper or other surface to dry. If you
want to make hanging ornaments, pierce the dough through with a toothpick while it’s wet.
Allow the shapes to dry for about two days, turning them over periodically to speed up the drying process. You may need to re-pierce the hole several times during the drying process. After the shapes dry, you can use a fine grit sandpaper to gently smooth any rough edges.
If you would like to speed up the process: you can bake them in the oven at 100 degrees C until hard. Baking times varies depending on oven and dough thickness. Make sure the dough is completely baked. You can cover the dough with aluminum foil if it starts to darken before completely baked through.
Painted objects should be sealed on all sides with polyurethane spray or clear varnish to make them lasting gifts or keepsakes.
Well, what a topic…Food.
26 months, toddlers develop mentally with such speed that sometimes we get lost on how to continue to stimulate them. I think what we need to keep in mind not to panic and that repetition for them is very important. It is good to start with songs and nursery rhymes.
2. Possibly ask what your child thinks. Why do you they think it happens or looks like that. For example, “why do fish have fins?”. The answer may not be 100% correct but encourage their opinions and maybe suggest what you may think but never say they are incorrect. For example if they say “its where they have extra bones”, you could answer “well yes, fins can be hard but when they move the fins it helps them move in the water”.
