Inspiring Creativity: Modelling with Salt Dough, Playdough, and Clay

Let children’s imaginations take shape with tactile, hands-on activities using salt dough, playdough, and clay. These sensory materials are not only fun and engaging but also perfect for boosting creativity, supporting learning, and developing essential skills in young makers.

Why Model with Sensory Materials?

Working with doughs and clay offers more than creative play:

Boosts brain development: Shaping and sculpting fires up creativity and helps children plan, problem solve, and think critically.
Emotional wellness: Moulding materials soothes nerves and provides a safe outlet for expression.
Fine motor growth: Kneading, pinching, and rolling strengthens small hand muscles and coordination.
Sensory exploration: Each material offers a unique, multisensory experience that makes abstract learning concrete.
Unleashed imagination: There’s no one right result—children can freely experiment, invent, and construct their ideas.

Salt Dough Adventures

Salt dough is affordable, simple to make, and easily hardened for painting or keeping. It’s a perfect entry to creative modelling with children. Try using it for:

Crafting fossilised dinosaur coprolites—mix in coffee for authentic colour and hide “fossil” clues inside.
Painting the finished models for an extra layer of creativity.
Acting as palaeontologists to “discover” and learn from their own salt dough creations.

Salt Dough Recipe (by cup):

1 cup salt
½ cup flour
¾ cup water

Mix the flour and salt, then gradually add water to create dough. Adjust texture by adding more water or flour as needed. Dry flat for several days or use a low oven for quicker results.

Playdough for Exploration and Learning

Homemade playdough is soft, versatile, and ideal for all ages. It’s inexpensive, customizable with colours, and can be stored for repeated play.

Use playdough to model science concepts—like layers of the Earth, states of matter, or body systems—assigning different colours to each feature.
Encourage imaginative or themed builds alongside academic learning.

Playdough Recipe:

8 tbsp flour
2 tbsp salt
60ml warm water
Food colouring
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Mix flour and salt; in a separate bowl combine water, oil, and colouring. Add coloured water to the dry mix and knead until smooth and flexible.

Learning with Clay

Clay is unique: it has a satisfying, natural texture and dries into long-lasting models. While more costly than dough, it’s great for history, science, and art projects.

Use white, terracotta, or grey clay for historical or science-based modelling—think Roman coins, ancient pots, or volcanoes.
Wet hands for easier shaping, and enjoy the durable models you can keep and display.
Try out pottery techniques with guided videos for inspiration.

Tips for Modelling Fun

Involve children in the process from the very start—measuring and mixing builds maths and practical skills.
Celebrate every creation, whether it’s a permanent clay masterpiece or a fleeting dough experiment.
Use modelling time to spark conversations about science, history, or art topics—each hands-on activity is a springboard to deeper learning.

Further Inspiration

Explore more modelling ideas with these popular topics:

Sensory modelling opens up endless opportunities for creativity, discovery, and connection. Enjoy inventing, building, and experimenting together—every project is a new adventure!