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Charline Cormier-Pellerin

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Modeling clay is so much fun! Even we adults have a hard time resisting the temptation when presented with the opportunity to pick up a piece of dough and roll it in between our fingers. It's soothing; and certainly entertaining for the children in our lives.

As convenient as store bought modeling clay is, the portions are often small and dry up quickly. This is one of the reasons why, when the children were very young, I became hooked on a homemade variety that a school teacher friend of mine had suggested after I had shared my concerns over the potential of having my toddler digest the store bought variety along with any mysterious ingredients it might have been made with. This friend had pointed out that in using non-toxic and safe baking ingredients, there would be no harm done to my child had she decided to sample it.

Once introduced to this homemade variety, I preferred it and even once the children had moved passed the stage of sampling everything their little fingers could get a hold of; I continued to make my own modeling clay.

The recipe that was given to me was pretty simple. It called for one and a half cup of salt, three cups of flour, three cups of water with food coloring added; two tablespoons of cream of tartar and three tablespoons of oil.

Basically, you mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and all the wet ingredients in a saucepan. Then, adding the dry ingredients to the saucepan, heat on the stove using medium-low heat. Continually stirring it (using a wooden spoon), you need to stir and stir until you cannot move it anymore (literally). Once it can no longer be stirred, you simply scoop it out onto wax paper to cool. It can then be stored in an ice cream container.

As much as it is true that the cost of cream of tartar makes this homemade version more expensive then the modeling clay found at the dollar store, this recipe makes the equivalent of at least ten of the store bought containers and stays fresh far longer than the store bought variety.

When I used to make it all the time, I had a Teflon coated pot and it worked great.

However, once my pot began flaking, I tossed it and started using a non-coated pot instead. Sadly, I couldn't seem to make the recipe work anymore after that. I may never know whether the pot was to blame or me; but after awhile, I simply stopped making the homemade modeling clay.

Truth is, I would love to make it again. One of these days, I am going to purchase myself another Teflon coated pot, and when I do, the first thing I plan to do with it is make a heaping batch of modeling clay! And there's no need to worry, should the children not want to play with it; I will.

* Charline Cormier-Pellerin, Moncton resident and mother of four children, writes a regular column on parenting and its many adventures for This Week.