We are having a great time with Patriotic Week! This is an annual theme for our DIY Summer Camp. There are just way too many fun activities to fit into one week. Today the kids had a blast making Blue Cloud Dough. It was perfect for our Patriotic Cloud Dough Play Tray.
If you have never made cloud dough before, you must try it! It is so easy to make. The kids can even do most of it themselves. The ingredients are easy to find and super cheap! Find the full recipe here.
This post does include affiliate links. That means I could earn a tiny portion of any sale that is made through clicking on any of these products with no additional cost to you. All support is greatly appreciated!
Simple Cloud Dough Recipe
The key to getting the right color for this cloud dough recipe is picking the right conditioner. Since we wanted blue cloud dough, I chose one that already had a blue tint to it. We learned this the hard way! We usually add a little food coloring to brighten the color even more.
My kids love to help mix things. That is what I love about this activity! We make the cloud dough first. Once we have it made, I add it to our play tray. I found this tray at Dollar Tree and it is so perfect for kids’ activities.
Setting Up a Play Tray
The fun part for me is picking out items to go along with the cloud dough. Since this week’s theme is 4th of July, I used flag picks, colored gems, beads, star confetti, and a patriotic cookie cutter set. I find most of our crafting supplies at Dollar Tree and Michael’s.
Once I set this tray out on the table, they dug right in! I do put a plastic table cloth over the space. It makes clean up so easy. I can just let them play and get as messy as they want.
Time to Play!
They made so many great creations! I was called into the room to take pictures quite a bit. It did keep them busy for a while and I was actually able to clean up our mess from the cloud dough making. Clean up is my least favorite part so I was happy to get that out of the way.
I took a ton of pictures so it was really hard to pick just a few to show you. My favorite part of the entire activity was when they started working together. It was a little shocking since we have had our fair share of bickering this summer!
Don’t get me wrong, they still fussed a little over who had the most cloud dough or flags or gems during this activity. It’s normal though. I just love those little moments when the teamwork surfaces. It gives me faith that they are growing a strong relationship.
This Patriotic Cloud Dough Play Tray was definitely a hit this week. I’m not surprised because these invitations to play usually are with them. We’ve done one with princesses and one with army men.
If you enjoy Patriotic Crafts and Activities, I’ll be sharing our recap of the week soon. We’ve had a great time with Patriotic Toast, squirt gun painting, and slime making so far. In the meantime, be sure to check out last year’s fun activities for more ideas!
