Things You'll Need:
- Flour
- Salt
- Water
- Vegetable Oil
- Aluminum Foil
- Baking Sheet
- Tempera Paints
- Clear Varnish or Polyurethane
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Step 1
Make Salt Dough. To make salt dough mix 1 cup of salt with 4 cups of flour. Then add about 1.5 cups of hot water and 2 Tablespoons of vegetable Oil. Mix all ingredients well. If it is a little sticky then add a little bit more flour. If it is a little crumbly then add a little bit more water.
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Step 2
Turn your dough into animals. Give your kids a variety of "tools" such as rolling pins, plastic knives (or butter knives), tooth picks, and other house hold items that will help make for neat designs. Have them create their favorite zoo animals.
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Step 3
Dry your animals. Place all the animals on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake at 200 degrees. Check each animal every 15 minutes. You want your animals to be thoroughly dry before removing (which will take different amounts of time according to their size and thickness). If the dough starts to turn brown before the animal is all the way dry then cover it with aluminum foil and continue to bake it.
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Step 4
Paint the animals. Once the animals are dry (and cooled) it is time to paint them. You can do this with any colors that you please or choose natural colors for your kids to use. Either way your zoo will be an exciting one. You will want to use tempera paints which are inexpensive and fairly easy to clean up. But make sure you wear paint shirts or old clothes because it can stain clothing.
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Step 5
Finishing. Let the painted animals dry thoroughly and then coat them with clear varnish or polyurethane. This can come in a can or a spray can and both work. However, you will want to make sure that you coat them thoroughly and fill any cracks for pieces that will last longer. Let them dry.
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Step 6
Play time. You can now have your kids set up their very own zoo at the dinning room table. Hours of play can commence with their own zoo animal creations!
