Edible Homemade Cloud Dough Recipe

Edible Homemade Cloud Dough Recipe

This edible homemade cloud dough recipe is very easy to make and a fun sensory play activity for young children.  It is safe for babies and young children who love putting stuff in their mouths as much as they love sensory play!  This cloud dough has a similar texture to wet sand.  It can be crumbly and fluffy but also sculpted and moulded into shapes.

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What you need

• Flour  (Gluten-free flour optional)
• Vegetable oil
• Measuring cups
• Large mixing bowl
• Spoon
• Oil-soluble food colouring and/or glitter (optional – and no longer edible with glitter). You can see from my photos that I accidentally used water-soluble blue food colouring by mistake. I ended up leaving it as it looked really pretty when the kids mixed the different colours. Alternatively, you can use regular food colouring and add it to one or two tablespoons of water to spread it more evenly into the flour.

For this edible homemade cloud dough recipe, there is a ratio of about 8 to 1.  For every 1 cup of oil, you will need 8 cups of flour.  If you find that it is a bit gloopy, you will need to add some more flour.  On the other hand, if it doesn’t stick together at all, you will need to slowly add some more oil.

Cloud dough can be fun to mould and sculpt.  It works particularly well to make a lot of it because it can be used with buckets, moulds, spoons and spades.   My children love using it to scoop, pour, fill and empty bowls and buckets.  They have also enjoyed using it with some of their dump trucks.  It has been a fun activity in my class where I provided small bowls and cupcake tins, cake tins and cupcake cases.

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Questions to ask

• How does it feel? 
• What do you notice about it when you squeeze it?
• What can you make?
• Does it change if you add water to it?

What they get from the edible homemade cloud dough recipe

This is a lovely sensory activity for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers, as they begin to absorb the benefits of sensory play. When we use and engage our senses, it helps to develop new connections in the brain. The more sensory experiences we have, the greater ability we have to develop pathways in the brain for thought, learning and creativity (Gascoyne, 2016).

It will help to build children’s gross and fine motor skills along with their strength.  It promotes the fine motor dexterity that is required for writing (Buckner, 2019).  Older children can of course join in with making this edible homemade cloud dough recipe.  It’s a great chance for them to begin to measure, pour, mix and stir, and helping them to build their strength.

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Take it further

You may want to see some of my other posts with sensory recipes such as Homemade Cloud Dough with Baby Oil, Corn Flour Conditioner Playdough, or Homemade Playdough without Salt. You may also want to see these posts: Cooked Playdough with Cream of Tartar, Aromatherapy Playdough Recipe, and Smelly Playdough Recipe.

References

Gascoyne, Sue (2016). Sensory Play: Play in the EYFS. Andrews UK Limited.

Buckner, M. (2019) Therapy for street Kids. Available at: http://www.therapystreetforkids.com/aboutus.html (accessed 26 July 2019).