Modeling dough is a unique material for children's creativity. Unlike plasticine, it does not stain your hands and does not stick to the table surface. The dough itself is softer and more manageable - it is easier to knead, sculpt parts and create intricate shapes. And the finished figures can be left in the air, and they will harden in just one day. For modeling, people at different times used clay, wax, salt dough, and plasticine. Even ancient people were involved in modeling dough. And the first to do this were the ancient Incas. They made figurines of animals and people for magical rituals using a mixture of water and flour. These figurines were burned and then sacrificed to the gods.
At the beginning of the 17th century in China, puppets were made from dough, which children played with and used to stage puppet shows. The Slavs also made ritual toys from salt dough, which they later gave to family and friends for Christmas and other holidays.
Modeling dough has undoubted advantages over plasticine:
- As already mentioned, it does not stain surfaces and can be easily removed even from carpet.
- Modeling from dough is much easier, so it is suitable even for the smallest children.
- After drying, the figures can be painted with stained glass paints to create a glossy effect.
- The colors easily mix with each other, forming new shades.
- Crafts dry on their own without additional exposure, and subsequently they do not fall apart or crumble.
However, you need to remember that play dough needs to be stored in tightly closed containers, otherwise it dries out and loses its properties. Often mothers ask the question: “What is better to choose for activities with the baby: dough or plasticine?” It will be better if you give your child the opportunity to get acquainted with different substances and sensations, and conduct classes with both dough and plasticine. But for the little ones (from 1 year old) it is better to use dough in modeling classes and here’s why:
- The dough is much softer and more pliable than plasticine, and for babies who still find it difficult to knead plasticine, this is important.
- Considering the fact that many kids will want to taste the modeling mass, dough (homemade) is much safer from this point of view, since its main components are flour, salt and water, and plasticine is still a combination of chemical components.
So, you have the dough, what to do with it next? First of all, of course, you need to introduce the baby to the test. Give him the opportunity to touch and knead him. You can make some kind of bun or bunny to show what the dough is capable of. If the acquaintance went well, you can move on to games. Remember that the entire lesson should not last longer than 5-10 minutes. Do not try to include all the games in one lesson, watch your baby and always stop before he gets tired of the activity. If your baby is losing interest in a particular game, it may be too easy or too difficult for him. Try to simplify or make the task easier.
You can roll out the dough with a rolling pin, press various objects into it, pinch off small pieces of dough, put them in a jar/bowl, prick the dough on a fork, cut with a knife, leave prints, sculpt sausages, koloboks and simple figures with your mother’s help, and much more. Nowadays, children enjoy making crafts, jewelry, figurines, and even entire paintings from modeling dough. Such activities develop spatial imagination, imagination, creativity, coordination, and teach perseverance and concentration. And since the child uses both hands during modeling, this develops both hemispheres of the brain at once.
Play dough is a fun, surprising, almost never boring and varied game. Through play, children explore the world and learn. Often parents do not want to tinker with plasticine or dough, thinking that children will dirty everything. And in vain. After all, you can sculpt in the fresh air, in an apron, on a special oilcloth. Modeling from modeling dough gives a growing child a lot in terms of development and learning.
Many manufacturers of creative goods produce modeling dough. Some of these companies include LORI, Genio Kids, Play-Doh and Bruno Visconti.
Once upon a time in childhood, we all tried to make different things from plasticine. The same ordinary plasticine that had to be heated in your hands and was easy to stain everything around. Which is exactly what we did. In addition, products made from it often turned out to be quite dull, and mixing colors led to dubious results. But all this was in distant childhood. What is the situation with such materials today?
An alternative to outdated plasticine
Apparently, that same plasticine is a thing of the past. Time changes everything around, including toys and materials for children's creativity. Everything becomes safer and more practical, and the properties of modern materials are sometimes amazing. Modeling dough, which has become very fashionable and widespread among parents of children under 3 years of age, belongs to precisely such materials.
Play dough and its properties
Play dough is an ideal creative material for little ones. It is intended for children under 3 years of age. Here it should be noted the main feature of this material - it is entirely made from plant components based on wheat, salt and food coloring. Salt plays an important role - despite the fact that the dough, in general, is edible, and nothing will happen to a child who eats a piece, its consumption in large quantities is still undesirable. Salt makes the material completely unattractive for ingestion - a child who tries the dough quickly gives up the idea of eating it, since it is really very salty.
Although the taste of play dough leaves much to be desired (fortunately for the child and his parents), it has amazing elasticity and elasticity. It is pleasant to the touch and pliable, with its help you can successfully develop creative skills in very young children.
Modeling dough can be used to create various figures and compositions; it is rolled out with a rolling pin, you can use it to draw on paper, cut out fragments from it with molds, or squeeze it out of a syringe. Everything is limited only by imagination, since the properties of the material itself allow you to do whatever you want with it.
Play-Doh play dough is very popular. This brand offers not only dough as such, but also many different thematic sets that stimulate a child’s imagination and motivate him to play.
You can get acquainted with the varieties of this material in the section dedicated to modeling dough.
Expert opinion
“When developing a child creatively, it is very important to choose the appropriate tools and materials for this. Traditional materials, such as clay, are often too difficult for a child to handle - as a result, instead of giving free rein to his imagination, he spends a long time trying to “cope” with the heavy and inconvenient material. In addition, often ordinary products that are not adapted for use by children can pose a danger to the health of a small child. Modeling mass, or, as it is often called, smart clay, is absolutely safe for children over 3 years of age and complies with the European standard EN71.”
Specialist of the online store “Daughters and Sons”
Leonovich Yulia
conclusions
Modeling dough is a material for children's creativity of the latest generation. It is distinguished by its aesthetics, safety, bright colors and amazing ease of use, which is especially important for children under 3 years old who are just beginning to acquire handmade skills.
DIY plasticine 6 recipesDIY plasticine. 6 recipes
There are many ways to prepare mass for modeling. Plasticine can be edible or inedible. You can make it cold and using heat treatment. The most important thing is that all the ingredients for making homemade plasticine are simple and are almost always on hand.
Plasticine is the best toy for children
Plasticine should be stored in a closed container or tightly wrapped in cling film. If moisture is released, just add a little flour. For sensory variety, you can offer your baby plasticine from the refrigerator, at room temperature, or heated to 30-400.
To color homemade plasticine, you can use food dyes, or better yet, natural dyes.
So plasticine will help color beet juice red,
in orange – carrot juice or turmeric (saffron),
spinach colors green,
blue – infusion of hibiscus tea
✔ Plasticine prepared by heating
1 recipe
Materials
1 glass of water
1 tbsp. spoon of vegetable oil
1/2 cup salt
1 tbsp. spoon of citric acid
food coloring
1 cup flour
Preparation
1. Mix water, oil, salt, citric acid, and food coloring. Place in a saucepan and heat until warm.
2. Remove from heat and add flour.
3. Stir, then knead until smooth. Citric acid gives plasticine a sharp taste, so that after trying it once, the child will no longer want to put plasticine in his mouth.
4. Store this dough in the refrigerator in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic.
2 recipe
Materials
1/2 cup salt
2 cups water
Food coloring
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups sifted flour
2 tablespoons alum
Preparation
1. Mix salt with water, pour into a saucepan and cook until the salt is completely dissolved
2. Remove from heat and add coloring.
3. Add butter, flour and alum, knead until smooth.
4. This dough will keep for 2 months or longer.
3 recipe
Materials
1 glass of salt
1 glass of water
1/2 cup flour, plus extra flour
Preparation
1. Mix salt, water and flour. Place in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring.
2. When the mixture becomes dense and elastic, remove it from the heat and let cool.
3. Knead the cooled dough, adding flour so that the dough acquires the consistency necessary for modeling.
✔ Plasticine prepared in a cold (raw) way
1 recipe (with cornstarch)
Materials
A bowl
1 glass of cold water
1 glass of salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
food colorings
3 cups flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Preparation
1. Mix water, salt, oil, food coloring in a bowl.
2. Gradually add flour and starch until the mixture reaches the consistency of dough.
3. Store tightly wrapped in film or in a closed container.
Recipe 2 (with oatmeal)
Materials
1 part flour
1 part water
2 parts oatmeal
A bowl
Preparation
1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix well and knead until smooth.
2. This play dough is not intended for a child to eat, but it will not harm a child who decides to try it.
3. Store in a closed container in the refrigerator.
Recipe 3 (with peanut butter)
Materials
2 cups peanut butter
6 tablespoons honey
Skim milk powder
Edible cake decorations
Preparation
1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir, adding enough milk powder to achieve a moldable consistency.
2. You can make cakes, decorate them with edible decorations and eat them.
On the modern market of creative goods you can find a huge number of modeling kits - many types of plasticine (ball, floating, super soft, hardening), special dough, masses of various properties, and so on. But it will be more useful and interesting for the child to prepare the modeling mixture on his own, under the strict guidance of his parents. How to make plasticine at home from scrap materials? There are several ways.
About the benefits of playing with plasticine
Why do some parents dislike plasticine? Obviously, because it gets under children’s nails, sticks to the floor and furniture, sometimes leaving greasy stains. But if we put these small troubles on one side of the scale (they can be avoided if you teach your child to handle plasticine carefully), and on the other side the benefits of modeling, then it will immediately become clear that plasticine is a very useful thing for children, with which they you should be able to handle it from a very early age (from a year or two - this depends on the individual developmental characteristics of the children).
Exercises with plasticine help your child:
- start speaking faster, since there are many nerve endings on the pads of children’s fingers, through stimulation of which the development of the speech apparatus is accelerated;
- develop fine motor skills and learn to control your little fingers more perfectly;
- develop imagination and creative thinking - you need to work hard and use your head to figure out how to make, for example, a heart for mom;
- reduce nervous tension - the process of kneading the plasticine mass acts in the same way as performing anti-stress exercises;
- train perseverance, observation and concentration;
- gain new knowledge - through plasticine you can study colors, shapes, properties (big, small, hard, soft, etc.);
- have fun in active communication with a loved one.
Homemade plasticine recipes
The composition of purchased plasticine does not inspire confidence, as it contains many unknown chemicals that are unlikely to be safe for children. How to replace what the stores offer? The answer is obvious - plasticine, created with your own hands from safe ingredients at home. Moreover, there are a great many recipes for homemade plasticine.
Salt dough (sculptural plasticine)
The most common version of homemade sculptural plasticine is prepared from flour, salt and water:
- 2 cups of salt should be mixed with 1 cup of flour;
- knead the dough, gradually adding 1 glass of cold water;
- If the resulting plasticine sticks unpleasantly to your hands, you can add a little more flour to it.
Second method (heated):
- mix 1 cup of flour and a quarter cup of salt;
- Bring half a glass of water to a boil and pour the resulting bulk mixture into it;
- add any vegetable oil there - 1 tablespoon;
- cook until a ball forms;
- knead the dough thoroughly, divide into parts and add coloring.
Modeling mass
An excellent alternative to dough can be a soft modeling mass made from starch and other ingredients.
Method number 1 (with shaving foam):
- pour 400 grams of starch into a large container or tray;
- Gradually add shaving foam in small portions, stirring after each addition (approximately 100-200 grams of foam);
- To make the mass more elastic, you can add any vegetable oil (about a tablespoon), and for color - food coloring (preferably gel).
Method number 2 (with soda):
- mix 2 cups (level) of baking soda, 1 cup of starch and 1 and a quarter cup of ice water;
- divide into parts and add dyes (you can use natural ones - beet juice, carrots, etc.).
Method No. 3 (hardening mass):
- the mass is created in exactly the same way as the second option (with starch and soda), but you only need to take 1.5 cups of water;
- then you need to put the mixture on the fire and cook until the contents form a ball;
- remove from heat and knead thoroughly;
- store in a closed container or under film, otherwise the mass will quickly harden.
Ball plasticine, which you can also prepare yourself at home, has very good indicators of a positive effect on the all-round development of children.
- Place expanded polystyrene (foam) granules in a tight bag (they are sold in online stores and some construction companies).
- Pour 1 bottle of PVA glue into the same bag (you can put dye there, if desired) and shake well.
- Add a few drops of sodium tetraborate one at a time to the resulting homogeneous mass (this is borax - sold in pharmacies, costs a penny) - the less it is, the denser the mass will be.
To create bouncing plasticine (plastic gum for hands, from which you can make bouncy balls), you need to combine 100 grams of fresh (not more than 3 months from production) PVA glue, half a bottle of borax (sodium tetraborate) and a few drops of dye.
When mixing, use glass containers, as well as gloves and goggles. To add flavor to the chewing gum, add essential oil to the solution.
The sandbox is a favorite children's entertainment, but it is not available in winter. This can be easily fixed by creating sand plasticine yourself ():
- mix 2 cups of starch (corn or potato) and 1 cup of water in a basin or other large container;
- add 4 cups of clean (this is important, street sand will not work) fine sand (can be purchased at pet supplies) and mix the mixture thoroughly again;
- divide into parts and color by adding dyes.
Making homemade plasticine is not only development and entertainment for a child, but also an excellent opportunity for parents to become a little closer to their baby.
It has long been proven that modeling classes help develop speech. We suggest making plasticine with your own hands and spending unforgettable minutes (or maybe hours!) of joint creativity with your baby. Our modeling mixture recipes have been tested on the most creative creators and their mothers. Choose yours!
Modeling is an excellent way to develop fine motor skills, but not all mothers are willing to give their babies plasticine - they are afraid that the child will swallow it, get dirty himself and stain everything around. Teachers in kindergarten and school also do not like him, since keeping track of 10-20 kids kneading plasticine in their hands is not an easy task. In fact, the fact that plasticine stains furniture, sticks to the floor and clothes, gets stuck under nails, etc. is pure excuses. If you teach your child to work with it correctly, nothing bad will happen. Moreover, almost all children, without exception, enjoy the modeling process itself.
Today, the industry offers a wide range of products for modeling: colored dough, clay (plain, white, polymer, self-hardening), plasticine (floating, ball, wax, sculpture), mastic, etc. In addition to all of the above, you can always make homemade plasticine. This is what we propose to do using our recipes.
1. A mass that glows in the dark
You will need:
UV lamp;
vitamin B (in tablets or capsules) 2 pcs.;
2 tbsp. flour; 2 tbsp. warm water;
2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil;
cream of tartar (can be found at a spice store);
2/3 tbsp. salt.
Cooking method:
Crush the vitamins into powder, add flour, 4 teaspoons of cream of tartar, salt and mix well. Then add water and vegetable oil. Mix well so that there are no lumps. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the mixture becomes like plasticine and no longer sticks to the pan or your hands. When everything has cooled down, you can start experimenting. Turn off the light and turn on the lamp. Plasticine will glow in the dark!
2. Edible plasticine
You will need:
½ tbsp. softened unsalted butter;
1 tbsp. l. heavy cream;
¼ tsp. vanillin (optional);
3-4 tbsp. powdered sugar;
Cooking method:
Beat butter and cream with a mixer. Gradually add powdered sugar and mix. The mass should become thick and dense enough for modeling. Add vanilla at the end. Knead the dough on a surface sprinkled with powdered sugar. Divide it into several parts, add a drop of food coloring to each and mix well again. If you don't want to use dyes, you can leave the mass white. Now you can start sculpting! The most important thing is that everything you make can be eaten.
3. Soft plasticine made from starch
You will need:
2 tbsp. soda;
1 tbsp. starch;
1 ¼ tbsp. cold water;
gel food coloring (optional).
Cooking method:
Mix all ingredients, add coloring. The soft and absolutely safe mass for modeling is ready! Even if the baby decides to taste his works of art, nothing bad will happen to him.
4. Modeling mass with citric acid
You will need:
2 tbsp. flour;
2 tbsp. boiling water;
½ tbsp. salt;
2 tbsp. l. citric acid;
1 tsp. glycerin (for shine);
food coloring.
Cooking method:
Mix everything thoroughly. Add vegetable oil to boiling water and pour into flour. Knead the dough. Knead until the modeling mixture becomes smooth and pleasant to the touch. If desired, you can add glitter.
5. Modeling mass with cream of tartar
You will need:
1 tbsp. flour;
1 tbsp. cold water;
½ tbsp. salt;
2 tsp. cream of tartar;
food coloring for color.
Cooking method:
Mix flour with salt, gradually adding water. Add cream of tartar, oil and food coloring. Cook over medium heat until a ball forms. Cool and knead well.
6. Boiled salt dough
You will need:
1 tbsp. flour;
½ tbsp. warm water;
¼ tbsp. salt;
1 tbsp. l. vegetable oil;
food coloring for color.
Cooking method:
Mix flour with salt and pour everything into boiling water. Stirring, cook over low heat until the mixture takes the shape of a ball. Knead on a floured surface until it does not stick to your fingers and becomes elastic.
7. Modeling mixture in the microwave
You will need:
2 tbsp. flour; 2 tbsp. water;
1 tbsp. salt;
1 tbsp. l. vegetable oil;
1 tbsp. l. cream of tartar;
food colorings.
Cooking method:
Mix flour and salt first, then add water, oil, cream of tartar and coloring. Transfer the resulting mixture into a baking dish, cover with a lid and microwave for 4-5 minutes (at medium power). When it cools down, knead.
8. Modeling mass without water
You will need:
300 g flour;
325 g salt;
2 tbsp. l. wine vinegar;
2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil;
food coloring.
Cooking method:
Mix flour with salt and wine vinegar. Add vegetable oil and food coloring. Transfer to a saucepan and place on low heat. Stir until a thick mass forms. Cool and knead well.
9. Jelly-based modeling mass
You will need:
1 tbsp. flour;
1 tbsp. warm water;
2 tbsp. l. salt;
2 tbsp. l. cream of tartar (can be replaced with apple cider vinegar);
2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil;
100 g jelly (approx.)
Cooking method:
Mix everything and place in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until a ball forms. When the mixture has cooled, knead well. If it sticks to your hands, add flour.
10. Classic salt dough
You will need:
2 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. flour;
1 tbsp. cold water.
Preparation:
Mix flour and salt, add water in portions. Knead the mixture thoroughly, first with a spoon, and then on a floured surface until a ball forms. If necessary, add flour so that the mixture does not stick to your hands. Some salt dough recipes recommend adding wallpaper glue, glycerin, and sunflower oil. Here, as they say, it comes down to taste and color...
11. Self-hardening mass for modeling
You will need:
1 part fine-grained putty;
1 part starch;
5 parts PVA glue;
glycerin (a couple of drops);
citric acid (pinch).
Preparation:
Mix all ingredients. Grease your hands with rich cream and knead the mixture thoroughly. Wrap the resulting dough in film to prevent it from drying out.
12. Self-hardening mass for modeling (boiled)
You will need:
2 tbsp. soda;
1 tbsp. starch (preferably corn);
1.5 tbsp. water.
Preparation:
Cook for a few minutes. The mass will first begin to bubble and then gather into a lump. Remove from heat and knead.
13. Self-hardening mass for modeling based on wallpaper glue
You will need:
1 part wallpaper glue (with modified starch);
3 parts water;
1 part baking soda.
Preparation:
Mix the ingredients and leave for 20 minutes to swell. Add a couple of drops of liquid soap. Knead with Vaseline or baby body oil. No need to cook! If necessary, you can add regular starch (so it doesn't stick to your hands).
The last three recipes are suitable for making products for interior decoration. Things turn out to be fragile, but with careful handling they can last a long time.
By the way, about color...
Food coloring can be added either at the very beginning of cooking to the dough itself or later. If you don't have food coloring on hand, you can use some products from the refrigerator or medicines from your home medicine cabinet. For example, green color can be obtained by adding a few drops of brilliant green to the dough, brown - cocoa or strongly brewed coffee, red - cherry or beet juice, purple - black currant juice, yellow - turmeric or carrot juice. Alternatively, in addition to color, you can add scents! For this purpose, you can use spices or baking essences. In this way, the child also develops a sense of smell.
If an older child will be sculpting (you are sure that he will not put the dough in his mouth), you can use gouache - the color will be bright and long-lasting. You don’t have to tint the modeling mass at all, just work with white. The finished figurine can always be painted and varnished at the end.
It is very useful for children to sculpt: both hands are involved (all fingers and the inner surface of the palm). Children learn to coordinate hand movements, acquire sensory experience, develop their eye, imagination, perseverance, accuracy, manual skills, and spatial thinking. Children get the opportunity to do three-dimensional crafts and learn to feel the shape. When plasticine is prepared at home, you don’t have to be afraid that your child will taste it.
Have some “delicious” plasticine and lots of ideas for joint creativity! We hope you will find yours among the suggested recipes!
Dear readers! Does your child love to sculpt? Do you have a favorite recipe for modeling paste? We are waiting for answers in the comments.
Loading...