Brace yourselves because this is an awesome activity that your kids will love to play with. It’s called moon sand and it’s wonderful for sensory learning. What I also love is that it is super quick to make, you can even get the kids involved.
Recommended age – 3 years +
(always provide active supervision during play)
Moon Sand
Moon sand is given it’s name because of it’s crumbly texture and how similar it looks to the surface of the moon. It can also be moulded when compressed, making it a fabulous for open ended play!
There are many varieties that are designed for play on the internet but I feel this is the best moon sand recipe. I especially like that it only takes two household ingredients to make it, three if you wish for it to be coloured. No doubt you could whip it up within a few minutes. Ah, love that.
Possum couldn’t wait to get stuck into playing with moon sand.
Moon Sand Recipe
The ratio to make moon sand is simple – 8 cups of all purpose flour : 1 cup of vegetable oil.
I decided to quarter that recipe and make smaller batches of moon sand and add a half a teaspoon of tempera powdered paint before combining it all together. I’m sure a few drops of food colouring would work too but keep it mind it will add moisture to the mixture. The texture should feel quite crumbly but combine when squeezed in the hand. Add a little more flour if the mixture feels too damp, a teaspoon or two more vegetable oil if not combining as well as desired.
Texture
Oh my goodness, I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to watch Possum begin digging her fingers into the crumbly moon sand. Her face instantly showed her delight as she explored the soft, crumbly texture of the cool moon sand. It was irresistible, even for me!
Crumbly but mouldable!
The wonderful fun with moon sand is that it very crumbly but can be simply moulded by pressing it together! Once moulded it can simply be broken down to it’s original crumbly texture. This makes for wonderful open ended play.
Learning about Colours
It is not necessary to colour your moon sand, however, doing so did give me an opportunity to talk about the colours Possum could see and revise a few that she knew of already. I also loved watching her mix the colours together to make new colours! What a great lesson.
Scooping, pouring, tipping…
I decided, after giving Possum some time to independently play with the moon sand, that she might like some various items to incorporate into her playing. Simple, safe items like a spoon and some plastic cupcake moulds worked wonderfully to help her build skills in tipping, scooping and pouring.
I loved the conversation that came out of this too. We both used lots of descriptive language and she also loved giving me directions on what I should be doing. LOL
Soon her play took a turn towards pretend play and we found ourselves making ‘cupcakes’ and singing happy birthday to me. Quite hilarious. Ah, I love that play can take you places you never expect.
I can’t recommend this enough to those with children of a suitable age and can be actively supervised. Possum and I had such a fabulous time playing and shaping the moon sand into whatever we decided. It was also a wonderful activity for her to learn more about colours and colour mixing. We were playing for so long that I lost track of time! LOL
Would your child have fun with moon sand?
Be sure to check out these other play ideas –
Ebooks available featuring Laughing Kids Learn
Thanks for this recipe!
You’re very welcome Kelly! I love how simple it is.
My youngest sensory seeker will no doubt love this. I can’t wait to try this with her. We will be able to mix up some batches of this together and enjoy exploring this. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Fantastic Elise. Come back and let me know how you go. 😉
Looks like so much fun! Adding colour makes it look very inviting. Some gorgeous photos too especially love that last one 🙂
Thank you so kindly Nichole. We had so much fun I was very snap happy. LOL
Cammy loves moon sand. Making icecream sundaes are her favourtie. Your colours look so inviting.
Thanks Jackie!
Moon sand is so much fun! We put glitter in ours once… I’m not sure if I’ll be doing that again LOL
I love moon sand too…and I can believe you lost track of time, it’s quite relaxing isn’t it! Those photos of your gorgeous girl had me smiling all the way through this post Kate…she looks more like you everytime I see her!
Oh look at your gorgeous girl’s face! Her expression says it all… what fun this stuff is!
With school holidays starting this week, we are doing this tomorrow! thanks for the inspiration!! xx
Thanks for this recipe! We tried it today and all the kids loved it (ages 7-12). Even the kid that’s always “bored” spent more than an hour playing with it!
YAY Andrea!!!
Thank you so kindly for popping back to share your experience with me. I knew my little Possum would love it but she too was engaged with the moon sand for a lot longer than I had expected. Don’t you love that!
Wishing you lots more wonderful play. Thanks again for your comment.
Kate
Brilliant
Thank you so kindly Karyn. 🙂
Hi! Thanks for this great post! Just made it and thought you might like to know that food coloring–both the drops and gel varieties–does not work. I suppose because they are water-based and the oil is, well, oil, they don’t want to mix. I just ended up with blue flakes/dried bits scattered throughout the moon sand. Not that the boys will mind! Just thought other readers might want to know! Obviously, the dried paint you used works beautifully!
Thank you so kindly for the feedback Maureen! I’m surprised the drops didn’t work. I wonder if balancing it with a little more flour would work. Very much appreciate your comments. 🙂
My 4 kiddos (5-2) loved this! Thank you!
That’s sooooo wonderful Maggie. Thanks for taking the time to tell me. So thrilled your kids love it.