Sand Trap(ped)

I was planning to take the twins to a puppet show this morning but the snowy road conditions (and kamikaze drivers) quickly changed my mind.  I hadn't told Tanner and Abigail about our puppet show plans so they weren't disappointed once I had made the decision not to go (learned that lesson the hard way...another blog post for another day).  As they were finishing up their breakfast I got on Pinterest to check out some of the things I had pinned on my Crafts & Games and Crazy Kid Stuff boards.  I figured if we were going to be snowbound at home we should do something new and FUN!
As I looked through my boards I found a recipe for Moon Sand (moldable sand).  Tanner and Abigail have enjoyed playing with Moon Sand at the Coastal Children's Museum, but I had never made it for them at home.  Looking over the recipe I saw that it called for flour and baby oil.  I had the flour (smile) but I didn't have the baby oil (frown).  I commented under the pin asking if another type of oil could be substituted...and wouldn't you know it, my neighbor Susy found a link to another recipe that said ANY type of oil could be used!  YEAH!
When the Twinkies finished their breakfast I told them we were going to make Magic Sand (I took the liberty of renaming our creation).  From their reaction you would have thought I told them Elmo was coming for lunch!  They began screaming with excitement...they had NO IDEA what I was talking about...but they were totally ON BOARD!  Abigail bellied up to the kitchen island and helped me measure the flour and oil.  I used a large whisk to mix it together...DONE!  I made a 1/2 batch to start but quickly whipped up another 1/2 batch when I saw how much it made.  The full batch was enough for Tanner and Abigail to play with, 1/2 a batch would be plenty for one child.

MAGIC SAND

Ingredients:
8 c. flour
1 c. oil (Baby, Canola, Vegetable, Coconut, etc.)

Directions:
Combine ingredients in a large bowl and mix together with a whisk.

I gave each kiddo a tray of Magic Sand to play "in" on the kitchen floor.  I figured if they played at the table or counter it would all end up on the floor anyway, so why not just start there (you could lay down a plastic tablecloth).  I gave them some cups, trucks, tractors, spoons, and cookie cutters to play with.
 

Once they got going there was no containing it!  I got a dustpan and brush out to occasionally sweep it up and put it back in the trays, but eventually I gave up and let them go to town.  They played happily for over an hour!

 

 Tanner moving Magic Sand with his trusty tractor!

Abigail digging and dumping!

We LOVE Magic Sand!

Once they were done, I transferred the Magic Sand into a covered bucket.  I am not sure if it will keep...we will find out.  I put all the sand toys in the empty trays, placed them in the sink to rinse off later, and stripped the kids down to their diapers.  I didn't want them tracking the mess through the house.  I gave them a bath* and put them in new clothes.  The vacuum quickly and easily cleaned up the mess that remained on my kitchen floor.

The kids had fun and I enjoyed watching them play.  We will definitely be doing this again!
* They were due for a bath, it wasn't because of the magic Sand.