We added color to our valentine’s cloud dough, and it was fantastic.
Here I was, wanting to make Valentine’s cloud dough sensory exploration for my boys when it occurred to me that food coloring may do the trick.
It turns out that this pink cloud dough sensory play was a hit!
RELATED: Sensory play begins at any age! Read how to get started today.
Cloud dough is magical.
Sometimes I find myself asking to help clean it up just to get it in my hands.
Cloud dough is soft and it molds well.
Cloud dough is an easy way to incorporate sensory play into your everyday routine with kids. Sensory play allows children to learn about texture as they play, along with finding a way to calm down.
But, why else is sensory play important?
Sensory play allows children an opportunity to:
- Express feelings through texture
- Increase vocabulary
- Strengthen fine motor muscles as the dough moves in and out of of the fingers
- Understand sensory attributes
- Imaginary play
- Creative outlet
- Stimulate new brain nerve connections that help with future learning and problem solving
The characteristics of sensory play are endless!
RELATED: It is just about Valentine’s Day and I have you covered with these 40+ Valentine activities.
What is cloud dough?
Cloud dough, also called Moon Sand, is a combination of flour and oil.
Here’s what I did to make fluffy cloud dough:
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- 8 cups of flour – I used this flour here. We have a peanut/treenut allergy, and from what I have read, this flour is safe for us to use and eat.
- 1 cup of oil – I used vegetable
- red food coloring
I squirted the red food coloring until it turned a soft shade of pink, hid some heart cut-outs and invited my preschoolers to take the lead in their sensory play.
Homemade cloud dough lasts weeks.
When I first made cloud dough years ago, it never occurred to me that I can reuse it again.
Turns out, our construction cloud dough and this Valentine cloud dough has lasted for weeks in our airtight storage container.
When we are finished playing, we collect the cloud dough into our hands and place it back in the storage container.
We keep our cloud dough in the accessory bin from the Container Store that we have listed in our toy storage post.
The food coloring in the cloud dough didn’t stain my children’s hands!
The red added the soft color for a variation in a tried and true sensory play favorite!
When will you make colored cloud dough?
