By contributing writer Colleen
Winter is in full force, and I don’t know about your kids, but mine tend to go a little stir crazy when they have to be cooped up for too long. Whether it’s the weather that keeps us inside or colds and flu, my four kids need to be active—physically, intellectually, or with their senses.
We recently pulled together this recipe of simple snow dough, and the kids played for hours. Which was fantastic, since we’d been battling colds and fevers for days, and everyone was tired of everyone else. Even my twelve-year-old son jumped in on this snow play.
The best part? You probably already have everything you need to make this snow dough. Warning, though—sensory play can be messy. So you’ll want to contain this in a foil pan, a play tray, or a shallow plastic container.
Supplies Needed
- 1/2 cup white hair conditioner
- 3 cups baking soda
- sparkly glitter (optional)
Once you’ve gathered all the materials, have your kids mix it together in a container with their hands. This dough is super fun and molds really well. If you store it in an airtight container, it will keep for several months. If it dries out at all, add a bit more conditioner.
We mixed our antarctic and our arctic toys, even though polar bears and penguins will never meet in the real world. My kids just like playing with all of their animals. They hid marbles in the snow so their penguins could search for their missing eggs.
Snow balls, igloos, and imaginative play with the toys gave way to snowman building, so we grabbed some sticks and buttons for embellishments.
There are so many possibilities the kids could explore with this dough. What are some of your ideas for fun snow sensory play? I ‘d love to hear them.
Bella says
Oh boy, I made a double Bach a hour ago.we now have 6 kids(5 not mine) ,playing with snow.they really love it.we live on curaçao and nobody has ever seen snow real life.now they want hot chocolate milk with marsmellow .because they are really cold from the snow,it about 85 degree,but to them this is really winter time.
Thank you,this one is a hit in the tropic.
Janelle Winters says
Oh Colleen, this looks like so much fun that I want to play with it too! I’ll definitely have to whip this up for my littles. They’ll love playing with this “snow” since the real snow we had in our area last week didn’t last long enough for them to play with. And one of them has sensory processing disorder so this sort of thing is right up our alley. Thanks for sharing your recipe!