Super Easy Cloud Dough Recipe

We first played with homemade cloud dough just over a year ago!  It has an amazing texture, crumbly and moldable at the same time. Bonus, it has just 2 ingredients! Cloud dough can be a bit messy but cleans up easily and feels amazing on the hands. Cloud dough has to be one of our favorite sensory recipes.

HOMEMADE CLOUD DOUGH RECIPE FOR KIDS!

WHAT IS CLOUD DOUGH?

Cloud dough is a simple recipe of two ingredients, flour and oil. The combination creates a silky mixture that can be packed and molded but is still crumbly. It is light and airy and doesn’t leave a sticky mess on the hands. Bonus, it sweeps up easily too.

There are two simple ways to make cloud dough. One is completely taste safe {vegetable oil} and the other is this cloud dough recipe below {baby oil}. Both use only two ingredients and can be made in two minutes. All you need is flour and oil.

You may also hear cloud dough referred to as moon sand, although we have a different recipe for that too!

You can also make cloud dough bubble and fizz , smell like hot chocolate, or even Christmas cookies! Check out 10 fun variations of cloud dough!

SENSORY PLAY WITH CLOUD DOUGH

All of these characteristics make our cloud dough recipe an amazing sensory play material. Recently our homemade cloud dough has been a real favorite for go-to sensory play activities.

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.

SENSORY PLAY IS IMPORTANT!

• Sensory play helps a child explore, discover, and create using motor skills, like dumping, filling, scooping.
• It is great 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 over a bin of rice with other children!
• Sensory play increase language development from experiencing with their hands all there is to see and do which leads to great conversations and opportunities to model language.
• Many sensory activities include a few ways to use the 5 senses! Touch, sight, sounds, taste and smell are our 5 senses.
• Sensory play recipes are calming for many kiddos who are anxious or worried. 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 connection with you.

FLOUR AND OIL CLOUD DOUGH RECIPE

PLEASE NOTE: This cloud dough recipe is not taste-safe! But you can easily make it taste-safe by switching baby oil for cooking oil.

YOU WILL NEED:

• Bin or container
• 5 cups of flour (we have used all different kinds including gluten-free and buckwheat!)
• 1 cup of baby oil (or cooking oil for taste-safe)
• Play tools (we chose play dough accessories, kitchen tools and a small plastic bowl)

HOW TO MAKE CLOUD DOUGH 

STEP 1. Measure, pour and mix!  That’s it!  Add all ingredients to your sensory bin and mix them together.

You should be able to grab a chunk of the cloud dough, mold it and have it hold. If not, you may need more oil. Too oily, add more flour!

STEP 2. Add tools and play accessories to your cloud dough and time to play!

CLOUD DOUGH SENSORY BIN

This is an awesome sensory bin to dig your hands into! I love to play with it as well. It feels soft on the skin and doesn’t leave a heavy residue on the hand. Bonus, it sweeps up easily too! Add any of your scented extracts to it as well for scented cloud dough.

Check out tons of sensory bin ideas!

Repurpose your playdough tools for everyday sensory play with cloud dough!

Next time you need a quick activity, why not whip up a batch of cloud dough!

MORE FUN SENSORY PLAY RECIPES TO TRY

• Kinetic Sand
• No Cook Playdough
• Cloud Slime
• Oobleck
• Foam Dough

MAKE OUR EASY CLOUD DOUGH RECIPE RIGHT AWAY

Looking for more cool ways to explore the senses, try these simple sensory recipes for sensory play.

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