Cocoa Scented Cloud Dough…Digging for Worms Play!

Welcome to the second edition of the 12 Months of Sensory Dough Series, all about Cloud Dough. If you missed last month’s post about Foam Dough, you can check it out HERE. This week we have been having a ball learning all about Earthworms.  My daughter is pretty fearless and loves hands on learning so I decided what better way to explore worms than to let her dig for them in Cocoa Scented Cloud Dough.

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There is a myriad of variations of Cloud Dough recipes I’ve seen and the closest to what I was going for I found at Sow Sprout Play. She used Hot Cocoa packets to scent her dough and since I wanted more of a dark dirt consistency and needed to fill my container pretty deep for digging in, I had to make some changes.

 

 

Cocoa Scented “Dirt” Cloud Dough Recipe

 

 

Ingredients:

  • 6 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
  • 1 1/2 cups Cocoa
  • 2 cups Vegetable Oil
Instructions:
 
1. Combine the Flour and Cocoa in a large container. You can see the size of container we used pictured above. Use a large spoon or spatula to stir and combine the two ingredients together as best you can. My daughter helped with the entire process.
2. Add the vegetable oil and use the large spoon to mix together the majority of the oil into the flour mixture. You won’t be able to mix the entire thing together with the spoon, but using the spoon helps to avoid your hands from being completely saturated by the oil. Finish mixing the dough together with your hands, trying to incorporate the oil into as much of the flour as you can. Cloud Dough is very forgiving. If you feel like more oil is needed, add more oil. If you want to add more flour, add more flour. Just work with it until you reach your desired consistency. Since we were going for a muddy, dirt consistency our recipe uses more oil than most recipes do. The dough molds together nicely, yet crumbles easily.


The Worms
I wanted our worms to be as realistic as possible so I went to the fishing department to find my worms. You have to be careful when purchasing worms because there are some that have added chemicals and salts to them to attract the fish. Don’t buy those! Read the packages very carefully! I just purchased the straight plastic worms that hadn’t been injected with any salts or chemicals. I bought a package of 40 at Walmart for a little under $4.
(Disclaimer: The package I purchased contained lead weights in it which is dangerous for children. If you purchase a kit that contains lead, immediately discard of the lead materials to avoid any potential hazardous and health risks to your children. Also, since there was lead in the kit and because the worms came a little slimy, I thoroughly soaked and washed all of the worms in dishwasher soap before using them with my daughter.)
After washing the worms my daughter helped me cut all the dangly ends off the worms to make them more realistic. This was awesome cutting practice! Now we were all ready to get playing!
Digging for Worms Play
My daughter and I each took turns hiding the worms in the dirt and then my daughter dug through the dirt to find all the worms. I put a little container on the side for her to put all the worms in after she found them. If that smile on her face doesn’t show you how fun this activity was, then I don’t know what will!
Hiding all 40 worms was quite the challenge so it was fun to play along with my daughter to see if we could get every worm completely covered in dirt.
This activity can get messy so make sure to do it in an area in the home that the floor can be easily swept and mopped, or do it outside.

 

I have to forewarn you that this Cloud Dough pretty much smells like the most amazing chocolate cake ever in existence. I’ve been opening up the container all day today just to smell it’s awesomeness! Hahaha!

 

 

I also wanted to show you two darling, darling books that are perfect to go along with digging for worms in Cocoa Scented Cloud Dough. They are jam-packed full of learning yet are aimed towards preschool through elementary-age children. I’ve got to be honest with you, even as an adult I felt like I learned so much about Earthworms by reading these two books. I highly recommend them!

 

I invite and encourage you to visit all of the Co-hosts as each will have a different take on the dough and you don’t want to miss out on all of the great ideas and insights! 

 

Meet the Co-hosts: 

 

 

 

 

Now it’s your turn…

 

Do you have a favorite Cloud Dough recipe, activity or post you would like to share?We would love to see! Have you ever had a Cloud Dough Fail? We would love to see those too! Please link up your posts below in the link party. You can also post a picture onFacebook, Instagram, Twitter or Google+ with the tag #ilovesensorydough.

 

Please read the following guidelines before linking up.

  • Share family-friendly posts related to the month’s theme. Feel free to link old or new posts that highlight your favorite recipes for sensory dough. Failures and unsuccessful attempts are welcome.
  • We ask that no posts are linked with copy/paste recipes from other sources. If you use a recipe from another source, please link back to the original recipe.
  • By linking up, you give permission to share your post and one photograph in future posts and through social media channels.
  • Visit 2-3 other posts that others have shared. Discover new ideas and meet new friends!
The linky will remain open for two weeks. On the 12th of each month, all co-hosts will post a new dough with their spin, and will pin each post to the 12 Months of Sensory Dough Board.
Don’t forget to join us next month (March 12th) for Edible Play Dough.
To see the yearly schedule, go HERE.

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rachel

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