How to make moon sand
Looking for cheap ideas to keep kids entertained? Make our easy moon sand recipe in just minutes, using just two storecupboard ingredients.
Moon sand is a calming sensory play experience for babies, toddlers and children. It sparks their imagination and develops hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.
Moon sand just requires two simple ingredients: flour or cornflour and oil. You can add food colouring, too. It’s mouldable, but crumbles easily, ready to be re-shaped and doesn’t dry out – perfect for small children who are developing their hand strength. As there’s no cooking required, you can get children of any age involved in making it, as well as playing with it, which will teach them about measuring and mixing.
Pack the moon sand into cups or cutters, or squish it freeform with your hands.
Our moon sand is safe to eat, but we wouldn’t recommend it as it won’t taste very nice! It’s also safe for babies to handle.
You can make whatever quantity of moon sand you like – it’s eight parts flour to one part oil. We’ve used a tablespoon measure to make a small amount, but as long as you measure the recipe by volume and level-off the flour, you can use any size of cup or scoop.
For more hands-on crafts, see how to make slime, salt dough, oobleck and moon sand with affordable ingredients and easy steps.
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Browse our family & kids hub for plenty of inspiration.
Easy moon sand recipe
Makes: 1 small quantity for a child to play with
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: No cook
Ingredients
- 8 tbsp flour or cornflour
- 1 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
- A few drops food colouring (optional)
Method
- Put the flour in a bowl, then slowly stir in the oil and food colouring, if using.
- Rub the oil and colouring through the flour with your fingertips, as if you were making pastry, until the mixture feels sandy and no oil is visible. If the mixture seems too dry, add a few more drops of oil, or if the mixture is too soft, add some more flour. The consistency should be a dry, shapeable clay that crumbles fairly easily when squeezed.
Top tips for playing with moon sand
Moon sand is messier than playdough, so make sure you cover nearby surfaces when you play with it. We recommend putting it in a shallow tray or using it on a tray-table. If you put a sheet underneath the table, you can catch any that falls and re-use it.
How to clean up moon sand
We recommend sweeping the moon sand up with a dry brush and dusting off any equipment as best as you can before washing – the moment water touches moon sand, it goes gluey.
How to make moon sand sandier
If you want a sandier texture (and aren’t concerned about whether your moon sand is taste-safe or not), you can add some regular play sand. We recommend mixing 5 tbsp sand, 3 tbsp flour and 1 tbsp oil.
How long does moon sand last?
Moon sand keeps in a sealed container at room temperature for up to a month, but discard it if it starts looking grimy.
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