Taste-safe cloud dough - with a fizz

If you've never made cloud dough I highly recommend it - takes about 2 minutes to make and lasts (theoretically) forever. And best of all it's made of things you will have in your kitchen already :)

As Iz still eats everything we have to make our sensory plays edible or she can't join in. So the recipe we used was:

                        4 cups of wholemeal flour

                        1/2 cup of vegetable oil

Yep that's it. Mix them together in a bowl and then you have this awesome mixture that runs through your fingers but you can mould into shapes just like wet sand. I actually prefer the texture to sand - much less gritty - and if Iz takes a mouthful then it may not be the most nutritious thing but it's not going to harm her!

Usually I leave the cloud dough uncoloured (that's why I like using wholemeal flour as then it looks like sand - white flour looks more like snow) but sometimes I'll colour it for a change. It's not that great using food colouring (they're water-based) but it's plenty good enough to keep my children happy :) the other alternative is using powdered paint which gives much more vibrant colours but then it would stop being as taste-safe for Iz.

D's favourite thing at the moment is making volcanoes in everything (see also when we played with our taste-safe slime) so with one of our batches we distracted Iz with a sensory tub of Rice Krispies and toy animals and then got to work...

First D sprinkled baking soda where he wanted the volcanoes to be. Next he squirted a few pipettes of food colouring on top (it was uncoloured cloud dough). Then he got busy with the vinegar.

I love watching how excited he gets with all the fizzing and bubbles. Science at its most fun and simple can be enjoyed by everyone - you're never too young to start! 

(this batch of cloud dough obviously went in the bin after this!)

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Have you ever made cloud dough? Or fizzy cloud dough? If you've done other edible sensory/messy play then I'd love to hear :)

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Disclaimer: as with any activity involving your baby, use your own judgement and common sense. I always closely supervise any sensory play and always inspect items for wear/tear carefully before each playing session. Always make sure you are confident with the safety of whatever your baby is playing with.