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Scented Dough

Develop olfactory distinction.

Big Idea: Noses can be used to smell different things.

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Materials:

  • Large bowls
  • Measuring cups and measuring spoons
  • Spoons (optional)
  • Aprons/smocks (optional)
  • Flour
  • Salt
  • Cream of tartar
  • Water
  • Vegetable oil
  • Packets of various fruit-flavored drink mixes (e.g. Kool Aid)
  • Ziploc bags (optional)
  • Pictures of fruits (optional)

Setup

Gather all materials before beginning this cooking project.

Activity Directions:

  1. Review recipe with children
  2. Allow children to use recipe to measure ingredients (flour, salt, cream of tartar, oil, and water) and mix together in a large bowl. Some dough may be lumpy, and some dough may be runny – that’s ok! Encourage children to use descriptive words while making the dough and add additional flour if sticky. (Create a few additional batches ahead to ensure you have enough dough for every child.)
    • 1 cup of flour
    • 1 cup of water
    • 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar
    • 1/2 cup of salt
    • 1 tablespoon of oil
  3. Give each child a portion of the dough.
  4. Sprinkle a little of drink mix onto their dough, ask them how their dough smells. Can repeat with other scents of drink mix.
  5. Children can spend time playing with the dough. When finished, store dough in an air-tight container or allow children to take it home in a Ziploc bag.

Investigation Questions:

Q. Match the scent of your dough to one of the pictures?
Q. How does the dough feel?
Q. What other kinds of things do you like to smell?
Q. Does the dough smell sweet or salty?

Learning Standards

1.A.ECa Follow simple one-, two- and three-step directions.
Students will develop simple directional skills when following a receipe.
4.A.ECa Recognize the differences between print and pictures.
Students will begin to recognize the difference between print and pictures by looking at the packets of Kool Aid and/or pictures of fruits.
4.A.ECf Differentiate letters from numerals.
Students will begin to understand the difference of letters and numerals by looking at the recipe
7.C.ECa With teacher assistance, explore use of measuring tools that use standard units to measure objects and quantities that are meaningful to the child.
Students will begin to understand the idea of quantities with the use of measuring cups and spoons.
12.C.ECb Experiment with changes in matter when combined with other substances
Students will observe changes in matter when the ingredient are mixed together.
23.A.ECa Identify body parts and their functions.
Students will use there noes to smell the scented dough that they have created.

Vocabulary

Olfactory: sense of smell