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Cloud Dough Recipe

Slimes, doughs and squish sacks are all the rage right now. This easy recipe for cloud dough is super fun to play with, smells good and it leaves your hands super soft! Kids will love watching the transformation of the powdery cornstarch and the thick liquid of the conditioner mix together to form this lightweight and super soft cloud dough!

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Activity PDF

Explore the feather light weight of cloud dough!

This two-ingredient cloud dough is great for exploring textures, building, shaping and calming down kiddos! Mix conditioner and cornstarch together and within seconds you’ll have fun, light cloud dough to play with!

📌 Pro tip: Once the children are done playing with it, store it in an airtight reusable container for future use.

🎨 Mix it up! Although in this recipe we keep the cloud dough white to mimic clouds, feel free to switch it up and make multiple-colored batches of cloud dough and add glitter to experiment with colors!

🔹 Take Shape:  Use cookie cutters to create shapes with the cloud dough.


For this activity you will need:

1 cup hair conditioner

2 cups cornstarch

Large mixing bowl

Spoon to mix (optional - little hands work great too!)

Learning Outcomes




Reasoning Logically - Exploring Transformations and Hypothesizing


Mixing and transforming materials


Step 1:

Dump the cornstarch into a bowl.

Step 2:

Slowly add your conditioner while mixing.

Step 3:

Once completely mixed, put the cloud dough on a clean surface and start shaping!

⬆️ For older preschoolers:  This activity can be completely independent as it’s a 2:1 ratio for the conditioner and cornstarch - a great opportunity to introduce fractions to them. If they want more cloud dough you can explain how to adjust the ratios to create more.

⬇️ For younger toddlers: This cloud dough has a calming effect as it’s scented and very soft! Overwhelmed toddlers can use this as a way to take their mind off a stressful event or keep them busy while waiting at a grocery store - just toss it in a plastic ziploc bag when out in public!

Playful Questions

If we have 4 cups of cornstarch, how much conditioner do we need?

Can you roll the cloud dough into a ball using your hands?

Can you use the cookie cutter to create a square?

If we mix red and blue food coloring into the cloud dough, what color will it turn?

Can you divide our cloud dough up so everyone in our group has an equal amount to play with?