We have been busy check, check, checking things off our Summer Fun List! The list has been great for planning out our weeks and giving us activities and outings to look forward to. All of the items we have fulfilled thus far have been fun, and of course, some have been more fun than others. I had to share more about one activity because it was quite a hit and so easy to make!
Cloud Dough (or Moonsand, as some might call it) is soft and moldable and lots of fun for little guys to play with (or in!). It’s great for sensory play and best of all, it can be made with inexpensive items that you probably already have lying around your home!
The basic “recipe” calls for 8 parts flour, 1 part baby oil. I knew I wanted a good amount so Lil’ CB could really get into the stuff, so we used 20 cups of flour (about 1.5 bags of the standard size) and 2.5 cups of baby oil. (We used generic versions of both and it worked just fine. I’ve also heard that if you use wheat flour, it looks more like actual sand, but plain flour was cheaper, so I went with that!) I threw the flour and baby oil into an old dishpan and mixed the stuff around with my hands for a few minutes until the baby oil was evenly mixed in and the consistency became squishy and retained shape when molded.
Lil’ CB was eager to play in his new “white sand,” so I got out another large container (so he could scoop into the different containers if he wanted) and threw in an assortment of small bowls and cups and some toy diggers and sand toys.
Then I just sat back, and let Lil’ CB go at it!
And boy, did he!
Lil’ CB had a total blast digging, scooping, building and just squishing around the cloud dough in his hands. He even offered me a variety delicacies he created:
like cake (top) and milkshakes (bottom).
At one point, Lil’ CB even tried to get in the tub with the cloud dough!
After almost an hour and a half of playing with the cloud dough, I had to drag Lil’ CB back inside because it was getting too hot. I really think he could have played with it for hours on end! Thankfully, the stuff does not dry out, so we covered both containers and stored them and have already brought them out for more play. And an added bonus? Cloud dough smells really good because of the baby oil!
Just two tips, though…don’t get it wet because the cloud dough will turn truly doughy from the water. Also, if you’re playing with it outside, be sure to lay down towels or a blanket because the cloud dough won’t wash away easily with rain. But other than that, I can’t stop singing cloud dough’s praises! Enjoy!
GOLD / pomelo / 5167 posts
as much as this is cool it would NOT work for us. Mavi puts water in everything. And loves to put sand/dirt everywhere. I definitely wouldn’t want patches of flour across the yard. ha.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21628 posts
It looks like a lot of fun.
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
Haha. Looks fun and messy
persimmon / 1255 posts
Made some for LO about two weeks ago and all she wanted to do was pour water into it since I (stupidly) placed it next to her water table so unfortunately, I found out the hard way about it becoming doughy and later hard when it dried on the cement, lol.
I definitely will try it again though after LO is over her current water obsession. It has a really fun texture.
guest
I saw this on pinterest! Suck a FUN activity for toddlers.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
I’ve been holding off on making this because I wasn’t sure how the clean up would be and I am not sure it would be age appropriate for my 19 month old, what do you think, Mrs. Cowgirl? Should I just try it?
blogger / nectarine / 2687 posts
@looch: i think if you’re fairly certain she won’t try to eat it, you should go for it! if you’ve tried playdoh and sand play successfully, this shouldn’t be too different.
olive / 67 posts
I can’t wait to try this!