Easy Toddler Sculptures

This simple sculpture collage will keep even the littlest hands busy, but would be fun for older kids too. A basic salt dough is a blank canvas for anything your little artist can imagine.

The clay is easy to mix up, and you have everything in your kitchen already:
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 3/4 cups warm water

Mix the flour, salt and water in a bowl. Knead for 5-10 minutes before modeling.
(Store extra in an airtight container.)

If using oven-safe items (aquarium rocks, pebbles, shells), your sculpture can be baked at 325 degrees for 1 hour. If using other items (drinking straws, feathers, leaves, Popsicle sticks, sticks or twigs), let the sculpture air dry for several days.

My son was barely 2 years old when we first tried this. We dug into our collection of rocks and shells to add to the sculpture, but the possibilities are endless.

You can add a hook to the finished product for hanging. For a shiny finish, you might brush the sculpture with an egg wash before baking.

At 2 years old, this craft was all about feeling and exploring. But I would imagine that an older child could create all kinds of things with this: a sculpture of your family, a dream house, a magical landscape…

Use found items in nature or recycle things from around the house. What about cookie cutters? Hand (or foot) print keepsakes… A free-form sculpture for dad for Father’s Day… I’m sure your little ones can dream up something fantastic!

– Amanda of Just Hatched