Baking Soda Clay Holiday Handprint Ornaments
Adapted by: Claudia Cázares, PVNfL Teacher
Age Group: This activity can be adapted for all ages
You Will Need:
Baking Soda Clay Recipe
What will they learn?
As a reminder parents these activities are intended to be made with your child, keep in mind that it’s important for the children to be a part of the process. Allow them to measure and mix in a bowl. (with the heating process please explains safety to children so they can be aware of hot surfaces and that only adults are in charge of these steps.) Please have a visual prompt “Instructions written and Materials available” for children visual and hands opportunities are the best way for children to learn and connect with what they are doing.
Math- children will be mixing; measuring ingredients together say the amounts needed for the ingredients children need visual cues such as number 1 cup or ½ a cup
Mixing- allow your child to take turns in the process by mixing ingredients
Fine Motor development- When the child is mixing ingredients and using a spoon to mix you are allowing for his or her upper and lower body to develop.
Language Development- Children are like sponges, remember to communicate every step, make a visual recipe, have materials available, introduce all materials to children before making the recipe.
Build Vocabulary
Safety
Hot
Taking Turns
Math
Mix
Ingredients
Clay
Handprint Ornaments
Together
Add
Cook
Instructions
After your child has helped measure and mix the ingredients, place them in a pot and heat on medium while stirring constantly. Before long the mixture will begin to thicken and come together in a mass. You'll know it's done when it resembles whipped mashed potatoes. It begins to get too dry very quickly, so take it off of the heat as soon as you see that mashed-potato texture
Remove the clay from the pot and place it in a bowl covered with a damp cloth to cool. Ten to 15 minutes should be plenty.
Now to make the handprint ornament! First, you need to create a round of clay that is about 1 centimeter thick (any thicker and they tend to crack more easily) and large enough to fit your child's hand. You can do this using a rolling pin and a circular cookie cutter, but I like the natural edges that occur when a ball of clay is flattened with a flat object such as a plate.
Whichever way you do it, one thing I'd recommend is surrounding the clay round in parchment or wax paper as it can stick to your kitchen tools and make it difficult to pull away without damaging the circle's smooth surface.
Next, help your child center his or her hand on the clay circle and press it down firmly.
The resulting handprint should be nice and easy to see. (Aren't the little palm lines adorable?) If the print doesn't work out as well as you want it to on the first try, you can always try again. If needed, wet your hand a little bit before rolling your next ball to give the clay some extra moisture.
When your handprint is as you want it to be, use a straw to create the two holes that will later be used for hanging the ornament — just be sure to not put them too close to the edges! Then it's time to let your keepsake dry. We normally let ours dry for a couple of days, flipping it here and there, but sometimes it takes a little longer.
Now time for the best part: decorating! While sometimes we paint them and sometimes we leave them plain white, this time around we decided to use glitter to decorate our keepsake. I think opting to coat just the outside edges in glitter really allows the details of the handprint to shine, but you could do it either way. Simply brush the glue onto a section of the ornament, sprinkle on some glitter, shake off the excess, and continue the process until the job is done.
It's not a necessary step, but when the keepsake is fully dry, you can spray it with a clear sealant or coat it in Mod Podge if you wish. Doing so will ensure that the glitter lasts for years to come.
Then all you have to do is thread your ribbon through the holes and tie the ends together, and your creation is ready to be admired!
This recipe will make 2 or 3 handprint keepsakes, depending on the size of your little ones' hands of course.
Full Recipe on:
http://mamapapabubba.com/2013/11/12/baking-soda-clay-handprint-keepsakes
You Will Need:
- homemade baking soda clay (recipe below)
- parchment or wax paper
- rolling pin or flat object such as a plate
- straw
- small paintbrush
- white glue
- glitter
- ribbon
Baking Soda Clay Recipe
- 1 1/4 cups of baking soda
- 3/4 cup of cornstarch
- 3/4 cup of water
What will they learn?
As a reminder parents these activities are intended to be made with your child, keep in mind that it’s important for the children to be a part of the process. Allow them to measure and mix in a bowl. (with the heating process please explains safety to children so they can be aware of hot surfaces and that only adults are in charge of these steps.) Please have a visual prompt “Instructions written and Materials available” for children visual and hands opportunities are the best way for children to learn and connect with what they are doing.
Math- children will be mixing; measuring ingredients together say the amounts needed for the ingredients children need visual cues such as number 1 cup or ½ a cup
Mixing- allow your child to take turns in the process by mixing ingredients
Fine Motor development- When the child is mixing ingredients and using a spoon to mix you are allowing for his or her upper and lower body to develop.
Language Development- Children are like sponges, remember to communicate every step, make a visual recipe, have materials available, introduce all materials to children before making the recipe.
Build Vocabulary
Safety
Hot
Taking Turns
Math
Mix
Ingredients
Clay
Handprint Ornaments
Together
Add
Cook
Instructions
After your child has helped measure and mix the ingredients, place them in a pot and heat on medium while stirring constantly. Before long the mixture will begin to thicken and come together in a mass. You'll know it's done when it resembles whipped mashed potatoes. It begins to get too dry very quickly, so take it off of the heat as soon as you see that mashed-potato texture
Remove the clay from the pot and place it in a bowl covered with a damp cloth to cool. Ten to 15 minutes should be plenty.
Now to make the handprint ornament! First, you need to create a round of clay that is about 1 centimeter thick (any thicker and they tend to crack more easily) and large enough to fit your child's hand. You can do this using a rolling pin and a circular cookie cutter, but I like the natural edges that occur when a ball of clay is flattened with a flat object such as a plate.
Whichever way you do it, one thing I'd recommend is surrounding the clay round in parchment or wax paper as it can stick to your kitchen tools and make it difficult to pull away without damaging the circle's smooth surface.
Next, help your child center his or her hand on the clay circle and press it down firmly.
The resulting handprint should be nice and easy to see. (Aren't the little palm lines adorable?) If the print doesn't work out as well as you want it to on the first try, you can always try again. If needed, wet your hand a little bit before rolling your next ball to give the clay some extra moisture.
When your handprint is as you want it to be, use a straw to create the two holes that will later be used for hanging the ornament — just be sure to not put them too close to the edges! Then it's time to let your keepsake dry. We normally let ours dry for a couple of days, flipping it here and there, but sometimes it takes a little longer.
Now time for the best part: decorating! While sometimes we paint them and sometimes we leave them plain white, this time around we decided to use glitter to decorate our keepsake. I think opting to coat just the outside edges in glitter really allows the details of the handprint to shine, but you could do it either way. Simply brush the glue onto a section of the ornament, sprinkle on some glitter, shake off the excess, and continue the process until the job is done.
It's not a necessary step, but when the keepsake is fully dry, you can spray it with a clear sealant or coat it in Mod Podge if you wish. Doing so will ensure that the glitter lasts for years to come.
Then all you have to do is thread your ribbon through the holes and tie the ends together, and your creation is ready to be admired!
This recipe will make 2 or 3 handprint keepsakes, depending on the size of your little ones' hands of course.
Full Recipe on:
http://mamapapabubba.com/2013/11/12/baking-soda-clay-handprint-keepsakes
Check out the Word document of this activity below:
| winter_activity_ornament.docx |
