Stretchy Sensory Dough – Simple and Cheap Craft for Kids

Although we are travelling we still need to find simple ways to entertain the boys. I love crafting but a lot of ideas aren’t practical when living in a bus – so it’s great when we find crafty ideas that use things we have or can get easily and on a budget. Did you see our craft vegetable patch which is a fab thing to make when you have no garden to grow your own!

This stretchy, sensory dough is perfect for at home or on the road – we did it on a picnic table at the park! There’s no cooking required and the kids can get involved in every stage.

To add the sensory aspect you’ll need different smells, textures and colours. I’m a big essential oil fan so have lots around to use – but if you don’t have any you can use vanilla essence or peppermint oil from the kitchen, or cinnamon powder which would also make it a nice colour.

We had some turmeric powder which turned the dough a fab yellow colour. We got some cloves out to smell and to use for decoration. You could also use a herbal tea bag – open it up to find different herbs and smells you could add to your dough.

This is a great exercise for practising fine motor skills – as well as talking about the different smells, colours and texture. You can also talk about the reaction of the flour and water and how it changes when mixed together. It’s also a great activity to do with young babies as the ingredients are edible! (Just be careful what you add for smell and texture).

Once the dough is ready you can use it for so many creative games. We made lots of pretend food with it, Mr 2 created a giant birthday cake with clove candles, then made a campfire.

We rolled it out, made a dinosaur model then some fruit and veg for our shop.

The possibilities are as endless as your imagination!

Here’s the full method:

Stretchy Sensory Dough

• 1.25 Cups Self Raising Flour
• 1 Cup Water
• Food colouring, herbs, spices, essential oils of your choice
• Method; Mix the flour and water in a bowl and knead into a stretchy dough consistency – adding extra flour or water as needed. Add your colours, smells and textures as desired!

*Note! If using liquid food colouring wear gloves during the mixing stage – we didn’t when we used blue colouring and currently look like a family of Smurfs!

Here’s the video – let us know in the comments if you try it and what you add!