“What is Moondough? I like the sound of it!”

This was a question my sister asked me earlier in the week when she was nosing around my Instagram page (@littlelearners_nwkent) looking at the Tray Hire Packs I have on offer. Moondough is definitely as magical as it sounds for children… and adults!

Part of the fun of moondough is actually trying to work out what it is. It’s mouldable like playdough, but crumbly in a sandy way, and also a little crunchy and impressionable like snow!

It is simply sensory gold, not only because of its texture but also because you have so much fun with colouring it and giving it a lovely scent too!

You can….

Squish it

Mould it

Use cutters and sand moulds

Scoop it

Flatten it and create toy car tyre tracks, footprints, and handprints

The way you make it can be adapted to your own family, so for example if you need it gluten free, you can do that, or if you need it taste-safe, that can be done too!

MoonDough Recipe

Ingredients

• 1kg bag of plain flour. Substitute for cornflour or gluten free flour to make this GF.
• 1 cup of vegetable oil (you can use baby oil too if you don’t need the recipe to be taste-safe)
• Optional: Food colouring or cocoa powder till you reach the desired colour. If you don’t need the recipe to be taste safe, you can also colour the moondough with powder paint or grated chalk!
• Optional: Essential oil such as lavender

Equipment:

• Bowl

Method:

• Pop your flour of choice in the bowl. If you’re grating in chalk, using powder paint or using cocoa powder then add this now and mix it together while it’s dry.
• If you’re using food colouring – in a separate small bowl or glass mix together several drops of your chosen colouring with 3 tbsps of water. Add to your flour and work it in with your hands. It will be appear to be faint but that’s ok.
• Add your oil and essential oil if you’re using this. The colour you’ve chosen will be much more vibrant now and.
• Mix together with your hands till the texture is even throughout and the dough sticks together when you squeeze it.
• Time to play! Give your child different tools to explore the moondough with, talk about colour mixing if you’ve made a few different coloured batches and enjoy!

You can store it for a couple of weeks in an airtight bag or container too before it dries out. There will be a ton more ideas like this in my Little Learners at Home online learning learning course – kept nice and simple using things you’d have around the home or be able to easily get a hold of. Email me at aisha@littlelearnersuk.com to find out more.

By Aisha x