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How to Make Moon Sand

Emmy has officially reached the point of toddler where we NEED activities. Don’t get me wrong, she can play independently and entertain herself well for a good amount of time. But that only lasts so long. She needs some extra stimulation each day.

I’ve had my fair share of fails when it comes to activities. Stickers were a huge flop for us; she was less than enthused with them.  We also tried sidewalk chalk. It lasted about 4 minutes before she was over it.

Moon Sand on the other hand…. We are on day 3 since making it and she still cannot get enough of it! I’m a fan too! It was easy and inexpensive to make it can get a little messy so it is definitely an outdoor activity, but with the kind of beautiful weather we have been having lately, we’re a-ok with that!

While there are about half a dozen ways to make moon sand, we went with the flour and baby oil route.

Easy Moon Sand Recipe

It’s easy as pie: 1/4 cup baby oil for every 2 cups of flour. 

To fill our plastic container, we did 8 cups of flour and 1 cup of baby oil.

You want to mix it well to break up any balls of baby oil that form.

We are storing it in an air tight container when not in use. I’ll keep you posted on how long it lasts!

TASTE-SAFE Moon Sand Recipe

I have received alot of questions on if baby oil is the only oil that works. I have also made moon sand with coconut oil. This makes is a “taste safe” version for smaller babies. However, flour is also not 100% safe for babies and toddlers to taste unless you heat it first to kill potentially harmful bacteria. You can do this in either the oven or the microwave. More details here on how to make flour taste safe for sensory play.

For the coconut oil version, combine 1/3 a cup coconut oil (heated in microwave until liquid) for every 2 cups of flour (also heated). Just like the version above, I make 2-3 times this amount to fill out sensory bin.

The consistency was only slightly different but equally as fun!

If your little one loves this moon sand activity, I would highly suggest also trying our edible sand recipe or rainbow spaghetti. Both were a big hit!

More Sensory Play Ideas: