::: moon sand recipe
We love ‘moon sand’ or ‘magic sand’ for sensory sand play. You can buy it from art and craft suppliers, but it is fairly expensive.
When we did a post on it a while ago, some kind people sent in the recipe so we could make it ourselves at a fraction of the cost.
Mix together:
4 cups sand
2 cups cornflour
1 cup of water.
We gave it a go and although different from the commercial sort …
it was still very successful.
The children had a lot of fun with it.
When it dried out in the sun a bit, it crumbled up beautifully and was easily restored with a bit more water added to it.
Is cornflour the same as cornmeal?
::: Sue we’re not familiar with cornmeal but cornflour is the same as corn starch … hope that helps.
Thanks for posting the recipe. The texture of the sand looks like fun to play with. can’t wait to try it ourselves!
::: Have fun with it Rachelle.
This is great! We will defintiely be trying this out! Thanks for sharing!
::: It’s our pleasure Gina … enjoy!
I had some moon sand waiting in my Amazon cart but this is so simple. I’m going to give it a go. Thanks ladies.
Kate
::: As we said Kate it is slightly different, perhaps a little more coarse but absolutely great!
Is cornflour regular flour or corn-starch?
::: Becki in Australia we call it cornflour but other recipes do refer to it as corn starch.
[...] Check out this link that includes photos of the sand dough! Share and Enjoy: [...]
Thanks for sharing! I will definitely try it!
Kerri
::: Enjoy Kerri!
Hi!
In Australia it is cornflour. In the US it is cornstarch. Cornmeal is not the same as either one of those. I’m an Aussie living in the States so I’ve come to know the differences! =)
::: Thanks for that Christiane!
This is what I LOVE about your site. The willingness to share resources in such a positive and helpful way. Ultimately, when we are all involved in a children’s learning environment, it is the children we focus on, and the opportunities we give them shape their lives. However we also have to live with budgets. So to have readers ( and yourselves) which are generous with their ideas and resources, we all end up enriched. Thanks everyone.!!!!
Lisa
::: Thanks Lisa THAT is EXACTLY what we’re all about here – sharing and inspiring each other!!!
Is there a way to make it colored?
::: Heather we have discovered a great way to colour sand is by grating chalk into it so maybe you could do the same here … not sure how it would go with the water tho.
Ear making moon sand for thursday at preschool – thanks for the recipe!
::: It’s our pleasure Jenny!
You can make it a different color by adding Colorations Liquid Watercolor to the water before adding to the mixture. Because the sand and cornstarch is white, might take an extra amount to get your desired color.
::: Thanks for that tip Lynn.
How long does it last? I know the the “goop” made with corn starch and water will go bad pretty quick. How do you store it?
Thanks for the idea. I am buying supplies today. I have seen colored sand – made by Crayola. Do you know if that will work?
::: Heather it doesn’t last more than a few days but as it’s so cheap we simply make more. Most of it ends up on the floor anyway and dissappears naturally … even the expensive bought stuff ends up all over the floor! We don’t store it with a lid allowing it to dry out a bit. We have not tried to colour it.
We have used Corn flour and water and vegetable food colouring to make goop. After using the goop for 3 days we have dried it, placed the dry mixture in an plastic container and used it again weeks later by adding water.
::: WOW! Thanks for that Lynne. It’s nice to hear it can last that long … now to figure out a way of keeping it off the floor!
Thanks for sharing this recipe. We’ll have to try this sometime. I’ve included your post on my weekly favorites here: http://play2grow.blogspot.com/2011/03/weekly-favorites-for-march-20-2011.html
::: Thanks Darcey!
We have had a ball making ‘moon sand’ this week at kinder. The process of measuring and mixing has been just as good as the end result. Each morning we added a bit more water to keep it soft and it has changed as a result over the days. We have had to make more as it has been constantly used…
::: Sounds like you’ve been having fun Susan!
How long does your “moon sand” last? I made some sandy playdough once, but after a week it stunk and had to be discarded.
::: You’re right Jillian the playdough doesn’t last too long but if you keep the moonsand uncovered and allow it to dry out it should last a bit longer.
[...] kids LOVE the moon sand they have at our local kinder/preschool so we are going to give this home made recipe a try – From Irresistible ideas for Play Based [...]
Thanks for this recipe, it sounds like something Erin might be interested in
::: It is lovely to play with Bec. Here’s hoping Erin enjoys it.
Walmart sells colored Crayola play sand in the landscaping area in about 3-4 different colors. The cost is about $7 for a 20lb bag.. We just made a batch of it today and although you are correct, the consistency is not like the store brand, the cost is unbeatable and my children had equally as much fun..isn’t that the point? Tip: The more water you add, the more goopy the consistency and we were calling it Alien Goo (we had the green sand).
::: That’s great Amy. We will have to look around for coloured sand here in Melbourne too … thanks for sharing.
I’m so gonna use this in the sensory science table during our Space theme during Summer Camp. Great idea.
::: Thanks Brenna … Have fun with it!
This is excellent! If I were to use this recipe and review it myself online would that be ok with you? (I will link to your site of course).
::: Sure Lotta that would be great. We’ve heard that everyone who’s tried it so far has come up with a different consistency. We will be interested to hear how yours goes!
hi, may i know where can i get the sand? is it from the beach? Thank you!
pls reply to my email as i seldom online ;p
Fabulous! I found that if you use landscaping sand from the sand/soil place the consistency is excellent. LOVE LOVE LOVE this – thanks for sharing! x
::: Thanks Cath … and thanks for the tip!
There is a difference in corn flour & corn starch. Corn starch is used for thickening, corn flour is a flour made from corn and is usually found in the ethnic section of your grocery store.
::: That’s interesting Melody as here we use corn flour for thickening!
ps, corn meal is very coarse while corn flour has the same consistency as wheat flour.
::: Cheers for that Melody!
[...] sand is expensive! Make your own moon sand with this simple [...]
Have just arrived at your site via pinterest and am sooo impressed already. I teach at my own playgroup and love to see developmentally appropriate ideas based on PLAY. Fun, fun, fun. I find that I still have to swim somewhat upstream against the tide of ‘sit at the table and complete this activity’ and ‘worksheet” mentality. Love this sharing of resources and ideas. Wonderful, I am inspired.
::: Welcome on board Lynese and thanks for you lovely comment. When swimming up stream gets too tough just take it easy and tread water for a while … the journey will be easier after that!
I’m going to make this tomorrow so the girls and I have something fun to do while waiting for the National Guard to re-open our town. A 22 month old, twin 17 month olds and Hurricane Irene do not mix well!
::: Oh Cait! We’ve been following the storm here in Australia on the news… You girls really do deserve some good times. Please stay safe and have some fun together.
[...] to make your own moon sand with this recipe from Play Based Learning! So much cheaper than buying the real thing! Parents, this is a great activity for your [...]
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[...] moon sand on Play at Home Mom. Then I lost that site and found a few more helpful blog posts here and here. The concept was pretty straight forward. Here’s the [...]
[...] Irresistible Ideas for Play-Based Learning: This Australian blog will nab your attention with it’s irresistible photography, and keep you reading with all of tips! While the blog is designed for preschool and early elementary educators, parents can glean a lot of great information. Some of our favorite posts? Making an Irresistible Play Space and their killer Moon Sand recipe. [...]
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Hi ladies- for coloured sand here in Oz the cheapest way is through the educational experience catalogue – and sometimes the Modern Teaching Aides factory outlet in Brisbane sells it cheap- although nowhere near as cheap as in America! We recently bought 8 containers (blue, red, green, yellow, purple, pink, orange and black) of about 500g each and with postage to QLD it cost us $49. We are using it for “sand art”, but we have used this recipe for Moon sand and coloured it by adding a small amount of white acrylic paint, powder tempura paint AND food colouring! We found this gave a very even and bright colour coverage!
::: We’ve certainly not tried to colour it with paint before Kiers81 … Thanks for the tip.
As for keeping sand off the floor, when I taught pre-school I could not keep the sand in the sand table. I put an egg crate (got a twin size bed crate and cut it to be the size of the general spil area) It saved a good bit of sand just by dumping the crate back in the bin every few days! Just a thought for all of you!
::: Now THAT is a great ‘thought’ Jeff! … Thanks for sharing it.
Love your ideas and will use them in my groups!
::: Thanks Joy!
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Hi! This is awesome! Going to give this a go this weekend, but I have a question. Have you tried any type of food coloring in the sand? I was wondering, as I’m sure it could end up being a day of dyed hands with little success. Or I might just go buy the colored sand that Walmart sells, and just skip the coloring step. Hmmm… Thanks!!!
::: Nancy have you ever tried colouring your sand with chalk. We find it works really, really well … and the children love it too!
http://www.playbasedlearning.com.au/2011/04/making-coloured-sand/
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Can you add color to this??? If so how?
::: Shan you could try colouring the sand with chalk. Like we did in this post.
http://www.playbasedlearning.com.au/2011/04/making-coloured-sand/
In the US, you can buy beautiful colored play sand in large bags at Walmart. This is Play Sand (for kids, sandboxes, etc.) and is cheap and pretty. It’s Crayola brand, and is sold in the springtime in the gardening section (with the mulch, potting soil, etc.).
::: Thanks for that information Elizabeth. We have possibly the same product here in Australia which is called moon sand or magic sand and we agree the colours are really beautiful. In Australia it is quite expensive to purchase and while this recipe is slightly different, it is certainly a fun alternative.
[...] fun or beneficial for those that have sensory issues or a diagnosis of Sensory Processing Disorder. Homemade Moon Sand [...]
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