Faith Curriculum Library: Tapestry of Faith: Moral Tales: A Program on Making Choices for Grades 2-3

Activity 5: Modeling Dough Fun

Part of Moral Tales

Activity time: 15 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • Parcels or containers of modeling dough made by children in Activity 4: Home-made Modeling Dough
  • Waxed paper
  • Optional: Smocks or old tee shirts for all participants
  • Optional: Modeling dough tools, such as cookie cutters and rolling pins

Preparation for Activity

  • As planned with your director of religious education and the leaders who teach younger children (see Activity 4: Home-made Modeling Dough, Preparation for Activity), gather the children and bring them to the room where the younger children meet.
  • Ask some volunteers to help you carry the parcels or containers of modeling dough the children have made, along with waxed paper, smocks or tee shirts, and tools for use with modeling dough.

Description of Activity

Before you visit the younger children, ask the older children to predict how the younger children will feel. You may say:

One way to be generous is to give someone your time and attention. Now that we've made modeling dough for the younger children, we're going to visit them and you each will be a special helper for a younger buddy.

If the modeling dough will be a surprise to the younger children, talk about how much fun it can be to get a nice surprise.

Walk together to the younger children's meeting space. When you arrive, introduce the children to one another as needed.

Give the modeling dough to the younger children. You may like to do this by asking each younger child to close their eyes and each older child to anonymously hand a younger child a parcel of modeling dough. If you have modeling dough left over, see if any of the children have a younger sibling or a neighbor for whom they would like to bring some home.

Pair or group the older children with younger children, and invite them to enjoy it together. Guide the Moral Tales children to let the younger children decide what to make together. You may suggest that the older children help the younger ones form the first initials of their names, or spell their names, in modeling dough letters.

Including All Participants

If either group of children includes one or more who cannot physically manipulate modeling dough, assist as needed in helping children interact with the modeling dough in alternate ways, such as by smell or sight or by contributing a color suggestion or an idea for what shape to form with the modeling dough.