This was brought to my attention by a Pinterest Pin which unfortunately had no real website behind it but all the instructions we needed were in the pin description.
Not deterred by a lack of actual facts we gave it a go with some really fun results!
You will need:
4 cups of flour
1/2 cup of baby oil
Bowl for mixing
Flat container with sides for playing (we used our trusty never-been-used cat litter tray) eg. a large roasting tin or plastic crate
Spoon for mixing, although you could just use your hands
Small cups, pots, spoons, cookie cutters, shapes, and ANYTHING you feel like playing with. Whatever you use will need to be washable so you can clean it afterward.
Protective sheet you can just shake or vacuum all that flour off afterward.
Method:
Put the ingredients in the bowl and mix until the oil is evenly distributed. The moon sand will feel soft and surprisingly dry and powdery as well as compactable.
Let the kids get their hands in and play.
Due to the consistency of the moon sand the kids could play with it as though it were fine sea sand and build sand castles out of it. They patted it flat, drew pictures in it, stacked sculptures high and knocked them down.
Stack them up
And knock them down
A wonderful sensory play session and I know they didn't want it to end.
Some Crafty Kids think Home-Made Moon Sand is: Fun: 8/10 Educational: 6/10 Show & Tell-worthy: 7/10
This was a great craft which took up most of an afternoon.
Step 1: Find some leaves
You will need: A bag/packet for the leaves which may be damp
We took a walk around our neighbourhood and raided all the gorgeous fallen Autumn leaves along the roadsides. Even under a single tree you will find big and small leaves, different types, colours and textures. It's fun to let the kids be picky about what they choose for their bag.
Leaf hunting
Then take them all home. If they are damp then spread them out on a plastic mat and let them dry for a bit. Clever Daughter really enjoyed admiring her collection and laying them all out.
Step 2: Painting
You will need:
White A4 paper
Coloured liquid paint. We used Crayola washable kids paint so my toddler could have a fun too without causing any damage.
Protective painting sheet: If you are only aiming to do the small page leaf prints then a regular painting protective sheet will be perfect.
For the larger painting project having something you can paint on from the start is ideal. A large sheet of paper will do well or in our case an old disposable table cloth.
Leaf Impressions: How to do it:
For a detailed impression paint the underside of your leaf where all the veins are more visible. For a solid leaf shape, paint the topside.
Now press it down and rub all over to be sure to get as much contact with the paper as you can.
Time for the great reveal! Peel that leaf off the page but try not to drag it or it will smudge.
Pretty!
Now do some more! Use different leaves and different colours if you like.
A finished picture. A little bit of Autumn to frame.
This is why we use non-toxic washable paint!
Big Art Project: How to do it:
Once we had finished a few leaf paintings we noticed the disposable table cloth we were using looked quite arty itself and since we were going to throw it away anyway... Why not paint it! (Clever Daughter's idea obviously).
So I stood back and let them loose.
That's my hand!
That looks like trouble!
Needs purple!
DinoKid was happy to give it a go.
Just like this!
Fast learner.
Use your feet!
The finished mat.
You are going to need to take a photograph of that final artwork. It's beautiful and personal and messy and awesome and full of fun.
Now throw those kids in the bath!
Some Crafty Kids think Leaf Painting and Big Art are:
Fun: 10/10 Educational: 9/10 Show & Tell-worthy: 10/10
This was one of our very first Show and Tell Weekend Projects. I found the link for some awesome Goop projects here.
You will need:
1 x 500g packet of Cornflour
About 1.5 cups of water
1 large roasting tin, plastic tub or similar (we used a never-been-used cat litter tray)
Method:
Add the water to the cornflour slowly while mixing (which is so hard considering mixing cornflour is like mixing broken tiles), until you have a sort of custardy mix. If it does become too liquid, you will need to add more cornflour or just play with it for a while and the liquid will evaporate eventually. I have even put mine under a fan for 20 minutes when I overwatered once and it evaporated really well.
Have the best time!
No pressure = Runny goo
Goop is amazing because when it is left it relaxes into an almost liquid state, you can pour it, swirl it and tip it from side to side, but when it is squashed, compressed or even hit it becomes immediately rock solid. (find the science behind it here).
What all that means is that kids can really get their hands into something completely mind boggling, messy (and yet not difficult to clean up!), non-toxic (it's completely edible even if tastes disgusting) and magical!
My son was 1 year and 2 months old and had almost as much fun as his 4 year old sister did. FINALLY someone let him play with spoons of liquid and pour stuff on himself without fretting. Bliss.
Pressure = Hard ball!
A quick video of the pressured vs liquid state:
We used a number of different kitchen utensils to scrape, scoop, smack and stir.
The clothes peg is a surprise success!
When it's stringy like this it always reminds me of the "Blue Goo" from Dr Seuss' "Fox in Socks":
Yep, that's the stuff.
Eventually after what must have been an hour of playing we realised the water in our cornflour had almost all evaporated, probably assisted by the children's body heat and constant movement. I am sure you could add more water and start again, but I took it as our cue to bring the experiment to a close.
This return to a powdery form is also why goop is so easy to clean up. Once we were all finished I went over the room with a vacuum first and then wiped the rest away with a wet kitchen towel. Rinse and repeat.
Honestly, writing this blog makes me want to do it all over again tomorrow! What a blast. Clever Daughter actually said how lucky it was that it had rained and we had to stay home, because it was the best fun EVER.
This is a little video of our fun:
Some Crafty Kids think Gloop is:
Fun: 10/10
Educational: 10/10
Show & Tell-worthy: 10/10
so my toddler could have a fun too without causing any damage.
