For the past year, I've been scouring the web looking for fabulous indoor sensory and learning activities to "homeschool" my toddler. It was about this time last year that I discovered the joys of Pinterest, which ended up making my search that much easier (and stealing any free time I had in the evenings!).
I ended up coming across a Pin to make Cloud Dough a few months back. It was a super easy recipe based on the
Juggling With Kids' post. However, I was hesitant to do this because my son has tons of
Play Doh® already, and this just seemed like more of the same. I was
completely mistaken!
The cast of characters are 8 cups of all purpose flour, 1 cup of baby oil, a measuring cup, and a tub preferably with a lid.
It only took about 3 minutes to combine all of the dough with the oil. MonkeyBoy was right in there with his cars and sand molds before I could even finish mixing.
He absolutely
loved the feel of the dough.
The consistency acted like wet beach stand, so you could mold it, but it felt like silk. What a great combination. Plus the smell of the baby oil made it all the more appealing to mama.
If you follow the link above to the original post, a few of the commenters had tried other flours and oils with huge success, so I encourage you to go there.
I think I'll go with just a diaper next time, since "keeping it in the box" is still a major challenge and a very hard concept for a little toddler to grasp :)
He was determined to get himself right in that box.
So, my overall impression of this sensory exercise was a huge success. My son was able to watch me mix two things together to create something new, the smell of the baby oil was so relaxing, the silky-smooth texture felt so good when squished in our hands, plus you could mold shapes out of it. I also found that the cleanup was very easy. I just sealed the lid on the
Sterilite container* and stashed away for another day. The consistency of the oil and flour just swept right up off the floor in a matter of seconds. His clothes may need wringing out before they hit the washing machine, however.
It'll get to the point in a couple months when playing outside in the sandbox will require chisels. I think this little experiment just enabled us to have a sandbox in the house for the winter.
Plus, I think the smile on this little monkey's face says it all.
Yankee Doodle Dandy,
–TYG
*NOTE: the link to the Sterilite box is to show the image of what I purchased at Walmart. I purchased just one of these totes for about $6 or $7 dollars. Why their website says it costs $38 is beyond my capacity for rational thought.
