Good morning cloud dough

Cloud dough sounds amazing- an easy-to-make experience that engages kids in hours of fun working those little hand muscles. I can’t believe we’ve never played with it before. It’s been on my to-do list since I read a post on Childhood Beckons comparing it with moon sand.

The recipe is simple- it’s an 8:1 ratio between flour (we used unbleached all purpose) and vegetable oil. You can also use other oils (not baby oil, though- that can be toxic) to experiment with different scents/feelings. Then throw in whatever you want to make it a fun sensory experience- essential oils, colors, small objects, give your imagination free rein.

Making the Cloud Dough
We decided to make an early-morning cloud dough inspired by our early morning experience. Most mornings, the kids drink either orange juice or a cinnamon drink. So we decided to put both scents into our cloud dough. Our recipe:

Combine 4 cups flour, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, zest of 2 oranges.
Get your hands in there with your little one and mix, mix, mix! (or use a spoon or a pastry cutter or a whisk).
Hand the cinnamon to your little one and let them go nuts sprinkling.

The orange zest added some flecks of orange color, and made the dough smell nice and citrusy. The cinnamon also added to the sensory experience- with the flecks of color and the scent.

Playing!

We tore the orange peel into tiny pieces for them to use as they played with the cloud dough. I got out a few fun props from the kitchen- a melon baller, a honey spreader, and some measuring cups.

The dough was unlike anything we had played with before. It molds and forms shapes easily, but it also crumbles right back down. It is also very soft and fluffy, and honestly I just got down and played with the stuff, too!

Containing the Mess

We were going to go outside, but it began raining. I put an outdoor blanket on the floor inside, and set the dough on the blanket. This helped to contain most of the mess…but the boys were both covered from head to toe!

I put it in a ziplock bag and stored it in the fridge for more fun play tomorrow.

Thank you for stopping by! For more ways to learn and develop imagination through adventure, play, reading, and nature, please join us on Facebook or follow along on Pinterest.

Danielle @52 Brand New says:

9 October, 2012 at 6:11 pm

Cloud dough is so much fun, but I keep it outside. You are one brave mama to bring it in! Looks like they had a great time!

Pleasantest_Thing says:

11 October, 2012 at 2:01 am

Outside was definitely my initial intention. It started raining while we were making the cloud dough. The mat kept it mostly contained, but there was still some mess.

critters and crayons says:

11 October, 2012 at 5:50 am

My kids now strip to skivvies to play in the large bin in the home…outside, we lay out a tarp- it is the cloud dough tarp. haha!

Jennifer Fischer says:

12 October, 2012 at 3:25 am

I have been wondering about cloud dough, for some reason I thought it was cornmeal, but see that it is flour. I definitely want to try it soon to see what my boys think. I love your additions. What a great sensory experience.

Cassie Harding Osborne says:

15 October, 2012 at 12:58 pm

I bet this smelled really nice! My girls have yet to do cloudy dough.

Rebecca English says:

26 October, 2012 at 1:42 pm

Oh that looks lovely. Will add it to our holiday list!

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