I want our last few activities to reflect the run up to Christmas and the shift to winter, and so when I spotted a recipe for snow clay I was very excited to make some for Isabelle. I knew she would love it as it is so like play dough, and I read that it hardens wonderfully to make decorations - so I decided to make a Christmas tree decoration with it.The clay is silky soft, sparkly and cold to touch.
The recipe for the snow clay is as follows:
- 2 cups baking powder/bicarbonate of soda
- 1 cup corn flour
- 1.5 cups cold water
Combine the ingredients in a pan, and heat over a medium heat stirring constantly until the mixture thickens to the consistency of mashed potato. Take off the heat and leave to cool- placing a wet cloth over the pan as the mixture cools. Once cooled, take out of the pan and knead the clay (adding the glitter) until it becomes the required consistency. Keep in the fridge to make the clay cold.
These are the instructions I saw, and the clay looked great. Unfortunately, I have never been great at following a recipe and when mine didn't do what i wanted straight away, and looked too wet, I added in a lot of plain flour. That sorted the 'too wet' situation and I thought all was well. I let it cool then popped it in the fridge.
I'm not sure whether it was my vigorous addition of flour, or the fact that I stored it in the fridge for 2 days before play, but as soon as I lifted it out today I knew that it wasn't the right texture - it was far too crumbly.
I gave it to Isabelle anyway, who immediately said "Cold! Very cold!" and started to play. She didn't care at ALL that it was crumbly, and delighted in making a big mess and trampling it onto the tiles in the kitchen! She made some balls, and kept saying "Cold! Very cold!" when she touched the clay, before crumbling it between her fingers.
After a while, she asked for a bowl, which I supplied, and she spent some time filling it up and moving the clay about. The texture of the clay, even though it wasn't quite right, was still much different from her normal playdough, and it definitely provided her with a new sensory material. The fact that it was cold was something she really seemed to enjoy. I would never normally think of keeping materials like dough in the fridge before play, but it is a great - very simple - way to add an extra dimension to a play material. It also worked great with the current weather, which is definitely 'Cold, very cold'!!!
So, even though this didn't turn out as I would have hoped - due to my impatience at 'cooking' it - Isabelle still enjoyed it. I will hopefully have another go at making the clay in the near future as I do still want to make a decoration for the christmas tree.
