A Playdoh Alternative: Cloud Dough

SJ and D3 have always liked to play with messy things. I on the other hand do not like being the one who cleans up the mess. I am trying very hard how to come up with new ways to hone in on their creativity. I was able to find the recipe for fizzing cloud dough from Powerful Mothering on Pinterest the other day.

It is perfect for us since everything I used was already in my cabinet. 

1 cup of flour

1 cup of baking soda

1/4 cup of vegetable oil

Food coloring

Now I did it a little different than the recipe I found for a few reasons...my kids can't agree on one color between them. If I allowed SJ to choose everything would be pink and sparkly. D3 would have everything blue. Special K would probably have it be purple or black....depends on her day. Also I decided to not color it completely so my kids could search for the different colors that are within the dough. 

All I did was mix the baking soda and flour together then added the oil. When I added the oil I used my hands to mix everything and pinch the oil that bunched together. I then added drops of pink, purple, green, and blue food coloring directly to the dough. If you have the powder dye you could use that instead. If you want the dough to be all one color you would then add the coloring to the oil before mixing. 

After everything was mixed together I separated the cloud dough into two boxes. I don't have a sensory box for them which would have totally worked better. It was just something I have never put on my list of things to purchase. It will be now! There was one for SJ and one for D3...K was at her moms so she didn't get to join in the fun. 

I gave them each a tablespoon and some Playdoh molds then let them go to town!

SJ did a very good job about keeping the cloud dough in the box. She really liked using the PlayDoh molds for stamps and didn't care to get too messy with her hands.


D3 wasn't so good about keeping the cloud dough in the box....you can't tell in this picture but he got it all over his legs and the ground. Good thing I was thinking for once and had them do it on the tile so it would be easier to clean up! Yay for this momma!!! He loved putting his hands in it and squishing it.

When it was time to clean up I brought out white vinegar and poured it on their cloud dough. I explained to them that the fizzing which occurred was a chemical reaction. They could honestly care less and just wanted to play with it. However D3 did want me to keep putting the vinegar all over his cloud dough. I didn't get a picture of the reaction due to my hand being all doughy and not wanting to make a mess on my phone.

I will be making this again for the kids. Next time I will make two different batches. One for each kid. I will also make the dough completely one color instead of speckled. They didn't really care about the color specks and would of enjoyed it all one color.

Over all this sensory activity taught the kids different textures, a chemical reaction, and allowed them to be artistic. It was also edible if Bug happen to get some in his mouth! It was an A in my book!!!

Do you guys have any sensory activities that you particularly like for your kiddos? If so leave me a comment and let me know about it!


</

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

I have always enjoyed going to baseball games whether they are little kids t-ball or major leagues. I even asked to go to a minor league game for my birthday when I was in grade school. It was one of my favorite birthdays prior to having my kids. These birthdays are the bomb.com if I do say so!

Getting Ready for Kindergarten

Last week we received SJ's paperwork for Kindergarten. I almost cried! I am not kidding! I seriously had tears well up in my eyes because I realized how big she is getting.

This was SJ's 1st day of preschool last year and I cried leaving her.

Quote of the Week #3

Since my journey as a mom began I have always known that I would never know what would come out of their mouth. There are some days I worry if they will say the wrong thing to the wrong person. I have been pretty lucky that people who know my kids know that they are being silly when they are telling stories.

My quote this week isn't one from a book or a movie. It is one straight out my babes mouth. 

I was at work this week and received a text message from my husband that said this quote. I was like "What?!?" and all he told me was "Your daughter"

That totally explains it all....

SJ is my 5 year old. She is the one who says random off the wall things such as "If we didn't have bones we would be floppy." 

She also said that we should cook bunnies for the poor family in the same conversation. 

I'm not sure where she comes up with this other than me telling her to be thankful for what we have because there are a lot of people who have less than we do. I could go on and on about her but I will save it for another post! 

I hope this weeks quote gave you a giggle as it did me!

Linked with: 

I Did NOT Sign Up For This!

My oldest isn't my daughter but she is my daughter.

That is a weird sentence. Even re-reading it I know how weird of a sentence it is. However it is probably one of the most honest sentences I have ever written.