25 min
Paper Fortune Teller
One sheet of paper, eight folds, and endless silly predictions.
🥐
Salt Dough Shapes
Flour, salt and water make a dough that keeps forever once baked.
Three cheap ingredients, an hour of moulding, and something they can keep at the end.
Ce qu’il vous faut
- plain flour
- table salt
- water
- baking tray
- rolling pin
Comment faire
- Mix two cups of flour with one cup of salt.
- Add water slowly, about half a cup, until it forms a firm dough.
- Knead for a few minutes. Let them do this part, it is the best bit.
- Roll, cut and shape whatever they want.
- Bake at a low heat for two to three hours until hard, then paint once cool.
Pourquoi c’est bon pour eux
Kneading and rolling build genuine hand strength, which matters for handwriting far more than practising letters does at this age. Measuring the cups is also real, useful arithmetic with an immediate consequence if you get it wrong.
Adapter selon l’âge
3 to 4 yearsSkip the cutters and let them squash and roll freely.
8 to 12 yearsMake a set of beads, bake them, and thread them into something.
Sécurité
The dough is very salty and should not be eaten. Adult handles the oven throughout.
Astuce rangement
Work on a large board or tray and the flour stays contained.
Dans le même esprit
60 min
Make Celebration Decorations
Paper chains, lanterns and bunting made from what is in the recycling.
30 min
Paper Aeroplane Testing Lab
Three designs, one tape measure, and an argument about which flies furthest.
20 min
Draw With Your Eyes Closed
You describe. They draw. Nobody looks.
60 min
One Box, Anything
A big box, some tape, and no instructions whatsoever.
25 min
Draw What You Can See
One window, one pencil, twenty minutes of genuine quiet.