Dream Dough

Parents often ask us about the supplies or recipes we use after their children attend a class or camp at the Children’s Museum of South Dakota. And since we strongly believe that the power of play and your experience at the museum should go with you beyond our walls, we are happy to oblige.

Dream dough is not only super easy to make, but it’s also super fun to play with! The recipe we use only calls for two ingredients; however, feel free to add additional color with food coloring or glitter for sparkly dream dough.

Dream Dough

Ingredients:

12.5 oz. V05 hair conditioner

16 oz. cornstarch

Directions:

Put cornstarch into a bowl and slowly stir in the conditioner. After a dough forms, knead the mixture.

Tip: Keep in an airtight container for up to one month. If the dough begins to dry out, adding a little more conditioner will revitalize it.

Dream Dough is calming

Dream Dough has two qualities that are very calming to children. Number one, it engages the sense of smell in a unique way compared to other homemade dough recipes. Whatever conditioner scent you choose will fill the room with a light aroma. A favorite scent at the museum is strawberry and cream. And two, Dream Dough has a soft texture that’s smooth to the touch. The combination of a soothing scent and smooth texture is naturally calming to children.

Here are a few ways to explore Dream Dough with children:

• Engage in pretend play by pretending to cook or creating characters.
• Use dream dough to tell a story.
• Teach skills such as cutting and rolling.
• Practice making letters or numbers out of the dough.
• Compare and contrast objects (ex. My snowman is big; Your snowman is little.)

This fun recipe should help spark imagination and learning for you and the little one in your life. At the very least it will keep you busy until your next visit to the Children’s Museum of South Dakota! We can’t wait to play along with you again soon.