Moon sand or cloud dough is a very simple sensory play recipe you can whip up with kitchen pantry ingredients for same day play! What I love about this sensory play idea is that it’s non-toxic, taste-safe, and easy to make! It’s absolutely perfect for the littlest learners because it is kid-friendly! Mold it, pack it, squish it, and squeeze it for truly tactile sensory play. Check out the fun below!
PinEnjoy Sensory Play With Cloud Dough
Just about all kids love playing with things that squish and feel silky smooth! This easy to make ocean theme cloud dough fits the bill perfectly.
Combine easy to gather ingredients and a really cool texture for all-day that’s non-toxic, taste-safe and kid-friendly! We have amazing sensory play recipes for every day of the week to try!
From taste-safe slime to sand foamto moon sand, find everything you need to know about making cool textures kids can really dig their hands into! See how we used moon sand to learn about craters in the video below (fizzy moon rocks are fun sensory science too)!
Why Is Sensory Play Important?
Sensory play makes for awesome hands-on fun and learning for young children as they explore and discover more about the world through their senses! Sensory activities can also calm a child, help a child to focus, and engage a child.
The Many Benefits of Sensory Play
Motor Development Skills ~ Sensory play helps a child explore, discover, and create using motor skills like dumping, filling, and scooping.
Play Skills {emotional development} ~ For both social play and independent play, sensory activities allow children to play cooperatively or side by side. My son has had many positive experiences with other children over a bin of rice!
Language Development ~ Sensory play increases language development by experiencing all there is to see and do with their hands, which leads to great conversations and opportunities to model language.
Using the 5 Senses ~Many sensory activities include a few of the senses! Touch, sight, sounds, taste, (where appropriate), and smell are the 5 senses. Kids can experience several senses at a time with a sensory bin or sensory play recipe.
Calming tools ~Sensory play recipes calm many anxious or worried kiddos. You might find that one works better than another for your kiddo.
Some sensory play materials can settle and soothe, and some can help keep kids’ attention and build their connection with you.
Helpful Resources To Get You Started
There’s so much more to learn about sensory play. Here are a few ideas, with free printables, to help you set up sensory activities easily!
- Make Your Own Playdough
- Free Printable Playdough Mats
- Best Sensory Bin Ideas
- Sensory Bin Fillers
- Tips For Easy Clean Up
- 21 Sensory Bottles and Glitter Jars
- Easy Sensory Play Recipes
Get Your Free Sensory Play Guide!
How To Make Colored Cloud Dough
Let’s get right to making your colored moon sand or cloud dough. Head to the kitchen, open the cupboards or pantry and be prepared to get a little messy. Your hands are the best mixing tools. A sheet or plastic shower curtain for indoor play doesn’t hurt either!
TIP 1: Make sure to use oil-based food coloring in this tutorial. The standard food coloring will not work because cloud dough is oil based.
TIP 2: Cloud dough can also be colored by adding powdered chalk or powdered tempera paint.
Ingredients:
- 2 Cups Flour
- 1 Tsp Blue Candy Food Coloring
- ¼ cup Melted Coconut Oil (or Vegetable Oil)
- Assorted fish/seashells for play
- Small cups for filling and packing
Cloud Dough Variations:
- Substitute coconut oil for cooking oil or baby oil (click here to see this cloud dough recipe with cooking oil)
- If you don’t have oil based food coloring, leaving the cloud dough plain is fine. It will look like beach sand.
- Make it gluten-free with a gluten-free flour mix.
- Add a hint of scent with a few drops of vanilla or a bit of cinnamon spice.
- Make it a moon sand science experiment with fizzy cloud dough.
PinSteps:
STEP 1: Melt ¼ melted coconut oil and mix with 1 tsp of blue candy food coloring in a large bowl. (Add more food coloring to achieve the desired color)
PinSTEP 2: Add the flour to the oil and stir to combine.
PinSTEP 3: Knead the cloud dough with your hands to fully distribute the colored oil in the flour.
STEP 4: Place the colored cloud dough in a large plastic storage bin.
PinSTEP 5: Add in your seashells and fish for ocean theme sensory play!
PinTime to play!
TIP 3: Do this activity outside where you don’t mind a mess or place a plastic sheet down underneath for easy cleanup.
PinThe Texture Of Colored Cloud Dough
Moon sand or cloud dough is moldable and packable, so you can use small containers to make “sand castle”-like structures! You should be able to squeeze a clump of moon sand and have it remain in that form!
Unlike oobleck that’s neither a solid or a liquid, cloud dough is a true solid. It will retain the shape it’s in until you break it apart.
Add cookie cutters for even more fun ways to play. Here we explored geometric shapes through play with the cookie cutters.
PinMore Fun Sensory Play Ideas
- Kinetic Sand
- Oobleck
- Easy No Cook Playdough
- Kool-Aid Playdough
- Sand Slime
- Fluffy Slime
- Colored Rice
Click on the image below or on the link for more fun and easy sensory activities for kids!
