Cloud dough is awesome! I can’t believe its taken me this long to make it with the boys!
If you have not made cloud dough yet, it’s a lot like the texture of brown sugar. Crumbly and loose, but can be compacted together too!
And its simple to make too!
To make cloud dough, all you need is cornstarch and vegetable oil. Check The Imagination Tree’s post for Cloud Snow Dough for the exact ratio. That’s just a guideline though because I just added to it until I thought the texture felt right and it was able to stick together.
(Note: I’ve since found out that Cloud Dough can be made with flour instead of cornstarch! We always have flour on hand, so that will be our go to ingredient next time.)
I just dumped the two ingredients on a tray and mixed them up with George to make cloud dough. Since its Christmas-time, I grabbed red and green glitter to add a little sparkle to the dough for the holidays. Plus, George loves glitter and he loved adding it to the mixture!
George was all over this! He played with the sparkly cloud dough the entire morning while Henry was at school. He thought it was fantastic! I gave him some measuring cups to press the cloud dough into to make bricks or balls.
We even made a little snowman together too!
We even had a little ‘writing’ practice in the cloud dough since its much like flour when it’s not compacted!
I honestly don’t know why its taken us so long to make this sensory dough! It really is awesome. The texture of its is so hard to describe… kind of silky I guess! Your hands will feel silky too after you’ve played with it all morning!
I’d love to hear if you’ve played with Cloud Dough yet. Yay or Nay?
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margaret says
Instead of oil you an use cornflour & cheap hair conditioner which generally have some sort of fruit oils in them…makes it smell lovely too. I have used this with a whole class of 3-5ys . Yes, its still crumbly messy but never had issues with it not brushing off clothes & child when dry & I wouldn’t even do ‘normal’ playdough on a carpeted area without protection, even for 1 child!
Luna says
This was the first activity I tried after lurking here for a while. And honestly it will probably be the last. This is the worst time Ive ever had spending time with my 19 month old. It was messy beyond belief and the base is oil so it stained EVERYTHING and also oil attracts bugs and roaches if you live in the city. Im in west Hollywood and most ppl wouldnt want oil getting tracked all around their house.
Bottom line this activity was thoughtlessly suggested with no consideration for your readers. I came home from work and wanted to play with my son until dad came home but instead I ended up scrubbing my carpet bathing my son who was covered in the powdery oily stuff which even was in his ears and hair! It was like having sand INSIDE! As if we went to the beach but WORSE! because it was oily sand!
I felt INSULTED by your horrible suggestion as I cleaned my son scrubbed his playmat and carpet and as my husband ordered pizza for dinner since I couldnt cook and ad to bathe my son and clean. I missed out on quality time with my husband AND son. Thanks for ruining my evening.
My advice to anyone reading this: make playdough instead and find another website with more considerate and thoughtful content.
Rachel says
I’m so sorry to hear that you had such a negative experience. I’ve personally made this material to play with my kids on multiple occasions with no problems. There is definitely a degree of mess involved, but usually nothing that isn’t easily cleaned up with some baby wipes and a change of clothes for my kids and sweeping the floor.
I would encourage you to try another activity, instead of judging the whole concept by one thing that didn’t work for you. The ideas we share are all very thoughtfully planned out and have all been done with our kids prior to posting. Here are some other toddler activities to try:
https://handsonaswegrow.com/activities/toddler-activities/
Good luck!
Corrie says
I am a children’s programmer at a public library, and have done this activity multiple times with our Infant Sensory group. Of course it’s going to be messy – that’s why we put down tarps, or my personal favorite: a parachute.
It is not Rachel’s fault that you didn’t adequately plan for the messy experience. It’s flour and oil – of course it will be messy.
I look forward to reading more content on this page, as we are expanding our sensory projects with our kids. Messy days are fun days. Find the bright side.
Ren says
I love this comment. Find the bright side ???? messy days are fun days. I was t’s recently by a Grandmother that she wished she worried less about the state of her house and spent more time with her growing children. Her house was always immaculate but her family never developed close bonds. Although a messy house is annoying…the time spent bathing could have been made into a positive bonding time instead of a chore as bathing can often be. Don’t let one bad experience weigh so heavily…chalk it up to experience, it may work for some but you have been there and done that.
Bijou says
Yes, a little planning goes a long way. I did this activity with my granddaughters, ages 3 and 1. I got the little blow-up pool I use on my deck and brought it inside. We kept the “magic sand” in the pool so we wouldn’t lose any. The texture is awesome, and we used the sand toys to make castles and shapes. I had planned to give them a bath later anyway, so thanks for the suggestion!
Mama says
Oh dear. Kinda harsh, Luna, don’t you think? My curiosity has been piqued, though. What mess-free toddler activities do you allow in your home?
Debbie says
I have used flour and baby oil in a science table for the winter. The students and I pretended to have a snowstorm with matchbox cars! It was great fun!
Michelle says
I made the cloud dough with flour and baby oil. My 2yr old daughter loved it. It was very messy though and stuck all over her clothes. Is that normal?
Rachel says
This can be a messy one for sure! I used a little less oil and it wasn’t bad. Even so, with my little ones, I strip them down to a diaper or onesie, and we play on a hard surface, like a table or the kitchen floor. This makes clean up much easier. You can also put a shower curtain under the bin to help contain the mess. I’m glad your daughter enjoyed it though!
Emily says
I am a grandmother of a two year old, thanks a lot for the great ideas
Emily
semiko says
sounds like fun so far, even the clean up :) can this mixture be made with baby oil?
Jamie Reimer says
Any oil works!
Britt says
We followed the Imagination Tree recipe with flour and oil. It had a fun texture and my boys really enjoyed playing with it for quite a while. BUT it was pretty messy and took me forever to clean up. The oil embeds the flour in the carpet and clothing. Everyone had to change and I had to do major vacuuming/sweeping to get it all cleaned up. Much of that was due to my messy 1, 3, and 5 year old (who outnumber me, and therefore can not all be watched at the same time). The older two were much neater and hardly made a mess. So mamas (and papas) of multiple little ones, beware!
Jamie Reimer says
Yes, this is a messy one! I’d recommend putting a shower curtain down, or at least a towel, and do it on a table or hard surface floor.
Melanie says
Can you use olive oil instead ? That is all i have on hand and it sounds so fun for my 17 month old
Jamie Reimer says
Yeah Melanie – I think any kind of oil would work great. Olive oil would give you an even brighter white!
Melanie says
Thank you , i used flour and olive oil and my 17 month old loved it !!! He had fun with some cups and plastic containers. He played for about 20 mins before he tarted throwing it all over the kitchen lol . But it helped on these cold windy days where i need inside arts and crafts and sensory activities . Melanie
Purple monster says
Hello,
I was just searching for something to do with my two toddlers this afternoon, I was thinking of making play dough but don’t have any salt and I am feeling too lazy to go to the shops and found your cloud dough post – this sounds fab and we have the ingredients so no need to go shopping! Will be trying this in a bit when they wake from their naps! Many thanks.
Jamie Reimer says
You sound like me ;) Have fun!
Beth says
I made a similar version with flour and baby oil… Worst idea ever! The kids had so much fun but it was a horrible mess to clean up. Probably should of thought it further thru before using my vacuum… We had to take the *entire* thing apart and clean it in hot soapy water o.O It’s a funny story now tho :D