Have you ever tried to build a sandcastle with regular sandbox sand? It’s basically impossible! Wouldn’t it be great if you could recreate that super-soft, packable sand you find at the beach? Well you can, with Moon Sand!
As part of my ongoing series, ABC Sensory, we’ll be exploring a different sensory activity for each letter of the alphabet. And for today’s letter C sensory bin, we’ll be making pretend Cookies out of soft, packable Moon Sand! In this post I’ll show you just how easy it is to make Moon Sand using items you have right in your kitchen. Plus, I created a FREE checklist to help you along the way. Click the link to get access before getting started: FREE Idea Checklist: How To Create ABC Sensory Bins.
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
Supplies
2 ½ Cups Flour
½ Cup Vegetable Oil
Letter C Shapes (uppercase and lowercase)
Cookie Cutters (use alphabet cookie cutters to emphasize your letters!)
Directions
In a bowl mix 2 ½ cups flour and ½ cup vegetable oil until all clumps are gone. The moon sand should be soft and packable. If it’s too powdery, add more oil. If it’s too mushy, add more flour until it’s the right consistency.
Pour your moon sand into your sensory bin or onto your cookie sheet. Add in the C letter shapes and the cookie cutters.
Let your kids go to town packing the sand and using the cookie cutters to make moon sand cookies.
Learning note: When doing this with my kids, I like to include C letter shapes. This helps reinforce the letter we are learning about. The more your child sees the letter, the more they will come to recognize it.
Make It A Game
Try pushing all the letter C shapes under the moon sand so they’re “hiding.” Then let your kids dig through the moon sand to try and find them all!
Sneak In Some Learning
As your child is playing, try asking questions like:
“What letter are we learning about today?”
“What sound does the letter C make?”
“C is for what?… Cookies!”
When I did this with my kids, they liked to first roll out the moon sand on the cookie sheet using a rolling pin. Then press cookie cutter shapes into the moon sand to make their pretend cookies. Then they would use the C letter shapes as “decorations” for their cookies. This food-themed play occupied them for a lot longer than I expected (which I loved!). And they were learning at the same time (yeah!).
Try Making Your Own Moon Sand
This simple-to-make sensory activity is sure to be a hit with your kids. Moon Sand is great for hours of open-ended play. And by adding in some letter C shapes, you can make “C is for Cookies” a fun learning activity too!
Be sure to check out the rest of my alphabet sensory bins. And show me what you’ve made! Join me on Instagram or Facebook and share your sensory bins with me! Or leave me a message in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
