Cloud Dough Sensory Tub

Today I tried my hand at making cloud dough - which is really less like a dough and more like a moldable silky sand. I actually can't believe it's taken me this long to make, because it's SO easy and a really beautiful and interesting play substance. All you need is:

• 4 cups of plain flour
• 1/2 cup of oil (vegetable or baby oil)
• 2-3 tablespoons powder paint
• Glitter (optional)

Literally all you do is put the flour, powder paint, and glitter in a mixing bowel, add the oil and use your hands to mix together until it resembles bread crumbs. Done!

It feels wonderful to touch and can be molded to shapes much like wet sand (but far nicer consistency and no way near as messy!).

Today I decided to make my fist 'Sensory Tub' for Bean, using the cloud dough as a base medium. If you haven't heard the term 'Sensory Tub' before you can read more about the concept here. Our sensory tub is just a plastic storage box at this stage (although I have plans for bigger and better things to come!), and can be filled with all sorts of different substances and items for open ended play that also stimulates the senses.

For my first try at the sensory tub idea I wanted to create a little desert type scene, so I filled my box with:

• Yellow glitter cloud dough
• Coloured plastic shot glasses
• Glass pebbles
• A variety of scoops
• Some toy animals

I also put out some different size containers and a plate for scooping/filling.

I decided the test run for this play substance would be best executed outside, as I wasn't sure how messy it might be and it just so happened to e a beautiful sunny day! It was also the first activity we've done in Bean's newly set up outdoor messy play area (which, at the moment is just a low table I found on eBay with a box full of paints, paper, brushes, chalk, etc underneath - it's a work in progress!).

The first thing Bean picked up were the animals...

...Then Lion and Tiger had a little chat...

...Next she explored the different scoops and containers...

....scooping and pouring...

....touching and tasting...

...of course some of it got poured on the ground, and that was ok (LOVING the outdoor messy area for this reason!)...

...She then decided to 'feed' some of the cloud dough to the chalk animals I had drawn for her on the ground that morning...

...It looks like very pretty pollen on the Bee...

...she also found another scooping implement to use! 

This was a really successful activity, and Bean is still totally excited about playing with it three days later. Definitely will try some more variations on the cloud dough soon...and now i've seen the sensory tub idea in action there will be MANY more to come! Oh yes! Such a simple and creative concept for open ended play, and only limited by your imagination.

B xx