I love making homemade play doughs, bubbles, oobleck, you name it! The problem is I can never remember exactly how I made the last batch and by the time I need to make it again, I have no idea where I put the directions. Most of the time it takes me longer to find the recipe than it does to actually make it! So I decided to put together this handy little page with some of our favorite play recipes. Now they’ll always be easy to find! We will continue to add to this page, so check back often, And we would love to hear what some of YOUR favorite sensory recipes are, so be sure to share them with us here or on Instagram.

SlimeS

Basic Slime (with a little extra sparkle)

  1. Pour glue into a medium sized bowl.
  2. In a separate bowl, mix the baking soda and 1.5TBSP of water together. Add about 1 TBSP of your glitter. If using food coloring, add a few drops now and mix together.
  3. Add the contact solution to the glue and mix with a spoon. It will be very sticky at first. Keep mixing until it starts to stick to itself a bit.
  4. Knead with your hands until it reaches the desired “slimy-ness”. *If it is still too sticky, add 1/2 TBSP of contact solution at a time until it gets to the perfect consistency. *You can also add 1/2 TBSP of water to make the slime more oozy if your slime is too firm.

Fruity Fluffy Slime (made with shaving CREAM)

  1. Pour glue into a medium sized bowl.
  2. In a separate bowl add water, 5-10 drops of blue food coloring and the baking soda. Mix well.
  3. Add the baking soda mixture to your glue.
  4. Add in 2-3 cups of shaving cream and mix again.
  5. Slowly add in 1.5 TBSP of contact solution and stir until it begins to form slime.
  6. Sprinkle in some of the fruit confetti. Don’t add tooo much, or the slime will not be able to “hold” it all.
  7. Knead your slime by hand for about 5 minutes. It is normal for it to start off very sticky, but will become less so as you knead. If it is still too sticky after kneading, add a little more contact solution, 1/2 TBSP at a time. if you add too much your slime will become hard, so make sure to do this slowly.

Fluffy Sea Foam Slime (made with shaving GEL)

  1. Pour glue into a medium sized bowl.
  2. In a separate bowl add water, 7 drops of green food coloring and 4 drops of blue, as well as the baking soda. Mix well.
  3. Add the baking soda mixture to your glue.
  4. Squeeze about 2 cups of shaving gel into the bowl you just emptied. Use a spoon to stir the gel until it becomes lighter and fluffier. This is the key to making fluffy slime with the gel.
  5. Add your fluffy shaving gel to the glue and mix well.
  6. Slowly add 1.5 TBSP of contact solution and stir until it begins to form slime.
  7. Sprinkle in some styrofoam balls.
  8. Knead your slime by hand for about 5 minutes and it becomes less sticky. If it is still too sticky after kneading, add a bit of contact solution 1/2 TBSP at a time until it becomes the right consistency.

PLAY DOUGHS & SANDS

Basic Play Dough

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1TBSP vegetable oil
  • food coloring (optional)
  • glitter (optional)
  • vanilla extract (optional)
  1. Add water and 5-10 drops of food coloring (if using) to a medium sized pot. Mix well. (You can also add scents to your dough with extracts such as vanilla or orange. Add several drops along with the food coloring.)
  2. Add in the vegetable oil and stir.
  3. Mix in flour, salt and cream of tartar. Stir thoroughly.
  4. Cook on the stove over medium heat, stirring constantly.
  5. After about 3 minutes, dough will start to form. Continue to stir until it forms a ball and is no longer wet/sticky.
  6. Take it off the heat and knead by hand (once it is cool enough) for about 5 minutes.
  7. If you’d like to make sparkly play dough, sprinkle some glitter on the playdough and knead it in. Continue to add glitter until it sparkles to your liking.

Sand Dough

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1-2 cups sand*
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 TBSP vegetable oil
  • coconut extract (optional)

*You can use sand from the beach, play sand, or sand from your sandbox. As long as it is clean and fine, it all seems to work!

  1. Add water and several drops of the coconut extract (if using) to a medium sized pot. Use more or less depending on how strong you’d like the scent.
  2. Add in the vegetable oil and stir.
  3. Mix in flour, salt, 1 cup of sand and cream of tartar. Stir thoroughly.
  4. Cook on the stove over medium heat, stirring constantly.
  5. After about 3 minutes, dough will start to form. Continue to stir until it forms a ball and is no longer wet/sticky.
  6. Take it off the heat and knead by hand (once it is cool enough) for about 5 minutes.
  7. I like to add as much sand as possible to our dough, so you can knead more sand into your dough now if you’d like. It gives it a great texture. I even sprinkle some sand on top when I set it up for the kiddos!

Dirt Dough

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 3/4 cup used coffee grounds
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 TBSP vegetable oil
  • brown food coloring (optional)
  1. Add water and 5-10 drops of brown food coloring to a medium sized pot.
  2. Add in the vegetable oil and stir.
  3. Mix in flour, salt, coffee grounds and cream of tartar. Stir thoroughly.
  4. Cook on the stove over medium heat, stirring constantly.
  5. After about 3 minutes, dough will start to form. Continue to stir until it forms a ball and is no longer wet/sticky.
  6. Take it off the heat and knead by hand (once it is cool enough) for about 5 minutes.

DIY ART SUPPLIES

Air Dry Clay

  • 1 cup baking soda
  • 1/2 cup cornstarch
  • 3/4 cup water
  1. Add all of your ingredients to a medium pot and mix well.
  2. Cook on the stove over low heat, stirring continuously. Stir until the mixture starts to stick to itself and pulls away from the pot. The clay should not be sticky.
  3. Immediately take off the heat and place it in another container to cool. It will take about an hour to cool off.
  4. Once the clay is cooled, it’s time to make some amazing creations! Allow your masterpieces to dry for up to 5 days.

*Store unused clay in an airtight container or ziploc bag.

All Natural Glitter

  • salt (use regular table salt for fine glitter, or ice cream salt for super chunky glitter)
  • food coloring
  • ziploc bags
  • parchment paper
  • cookie sheet

*Obviously, this won’t be as shiny and sparkly as real glitter, but it is an amazing eco-friendly substitute and crafting possibilities are endless! The chunky ice cream salt is also lots of fun to use in sensory bins.

  1. Pour some salt into your ziploc bag. There isn’t a specific measurement; just pour in however much you’d like to make.
  2. Choose a color and add about 5 drops of food coloring to the salt.
  3. Make sure your bag is sealed tight and start shaking. The food coloring drops will clump a bit, so you may need to gently squeeze and rub those areas to help spread the color. Shake until all the salt is colored. Add a few more drops of food coloring if your color is not vibrant enough and shake again.
  4. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and pour the rice onto it. Spread evenly into a thin layer and let dry. This usually only takes 5 minutes.
  5. Store back in the plastic bags or recycled glitter containers to use for future crafts.
  6. Repeat these steps for all colors you’d like to make.

SENSORY bin FILLERS

Dyed Rice

  • 1 cup rice
  • 1 TBSP vinegar
  • food coloring
  • large ziploc bag
  • parchment paper
  • cookie sheet
  1. Measure your rice and dump into the ziploc bag.
  2. Pour the vinegar into the bag of rice.
  3. Squirt several drops of food coloring into the bag. We’ve used anywhere from 8 drops to most of the container. It just depends on how bright you’d like the color.
  4. Seal the bag up tightly! And shake, shake, shake until it is evenly coated.
  5. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Pour the rice onto the paper and spread evenly to let dry. I usually let it dry overnight and give it a few stirs to ensure it’s all dry and it won’t dye the little one’s hands.
  6. After it is dry, throw your rice in a sensory bin, add some toys and let your kiddo explore.
  7. Repeat these steps for every color you’d like.

Chia Seed Goop

*We especially love this recipe for swamps, frog/pond habitats and dino small world play.

  1. Add chia seeds and water in a large bowl.
  2. Add a few drops of food coloring if using.
  3. Mix well.
  4. Put in the refrigerator overnight.
  5. In the morning, give it another good stir and dump it into your bin to create a slimey small word.

*Make sure you refrigerate this goop if you plan on using it multiple days.

Chia Seed Slime

  • 1/4 cup chia seeds
  • 1.5 cups water
  • 2-4 cups cornstarch
  • food coloring (optional)
  • bowl and spoon

*This recipe is in the sensory section because it’s not a true slime. Adding the cornstarch definitely adds some structure and stretchiness to the goop, but Mighty (our resident slime expert) has determined this is great for sensory play, but wants to make it clear it is NOT slime-approved. LOL

  1. Use the chia seed goop recipe above to make the base of this slime. I usually cut the recipe in half to use for slime, so you would use 1/4 cup chia seeds and 1.5 cups of water.
  2. After your chia seed goop has been soaking for at least 12 hours, take it out of the refrigerator and begin adding the cornstarch. Add 1/2 a cup at a time and mix with a spoon. After about 2 cups, you’ll want to start kneading with your hands until it reaches the perfect ooey gooey consistency.
  3. Add a few more drops of food coloring if desired, but keep in mind that it is hard to get a super vibrant color with this slime.

*Store this slime in the fridge when you are not playing with it. You may need to knead in more cornstarch to refresh the slime.

bubbles & more

Basic Bubbles (great for refills)

  • 5 cups water
  • 2 cups Dawn dish soap
  • 3/4 cup corn syrup
  • funnel (if using to refill bubble containers)
  • large bowl , pitcher or tupperware container
  1. Pour 5 cups of water into a large vessel. Make sure it is deep enough that you can add everything and stir without spilling.
  2. Pour corn syrup into the water. Use a long spoon to mix thoroughly.
  3. Add in the dish soap. Mix well. Be sure to completely combine all the ingredients, but stir gently to avoid turning your solution into a foamy mess.
  4. Use a funnel to refill all those spilled bubble containers or store the solution in whatever containers you have that have a tight fitting lid. We like to use small mason jars.

Oobleck

  • 1 cup cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup water
  • food coloring (optional)
  • bowl and spoon
  1. Pour cornstarch into a medium sized bowl.
  2. In a separate container, measure out your water and add a few drops of food coloring if using.
  3. Slowly pour the water into the cornstarch while stirring. It will become harder to stir as it forms oobleck. Stir slowly until all the cornstarch is mixed in.

*If it is too runny, add a bit more cornstarch. If it is too hard, add a bit more water.