“Salt dough decorations or Salzteig Deko (in German) is something that I remember dearly from my own childhood. It is something that my Oma (grandmother) and I did each year in preparation for Christmas,” Early Childhood Teacher Sonja Wiedenmaier said.
“It has been wonderful to see how the children have transferred and adapted their knowledge and skills about playdough making into this experience.”
“It’s the same ingredients,” Alexandros said.
Christina added that “it’s not the same amount”.
“Experiences such as these are rich in dialogue and offer many opportunities to engage in numeracy. To successfully make salt dough for example, the children need to follow the specific steps in sequential order and measure the right amounts of ingredients,” Sonja said.
“The picture has two cups on it. So we need two cups of this flour,” Atticus said, after carefully looking at the visual recipe card.
“Once the dough is made, sensory play takes over, as the children can knead and enjoy the rough salty texture of the dough, assist in rolling it out and then cutting it with the cookie cutters provided.
“Once all of our shapes have dried, we will thread some twine through the little holes we have created. Then it will be time to paint – something the children have already expressed that they are excited about,” Sonja said.
Sonja said the children have already noticed a change in some of the decorations as they dry.
