Mikeitz activity and Snow Dough Recipe

This week is Parshat Mikeitz (check out the list of parshat Mikeitz activity and project ideas, or the whole list under the Parsha tab along the top!). So we did this fun and easy sensory activity to reenact finding the cup in the sack of grain.

First, I took a plastic shoebox and dumped in 4 cups of cornstarch. I hid a small glass rock in it, and invited each of the three oldest children to search for the rock. We talked about why and how it all linked together as they took turns. The kids each did this a couple of times.

I didn’t let them wash their hands after that, though, because then we added in about 1 cup of baby oil and mixed. It made a flaky, dry, yet moldable dough, very similar to sand dough or moon dough (I’m guessing on that one.) We then buried a few more rocks and spoons and took turns finding them, and then my kids took turns just playing. It feels very silky, crunches in your hands like snow, and smells amazing (especially if you’re a sucker for baby oil.)

This is a fun sand / dough, and it meant that whatever “grain” we used for the parsha related search wouldn’t be wasted. You could always do something like this with lentils, or beans, or rice, or even flour. I got the original idea and basic recipe here, but subbed in the baby oil. You can use an edible oil if you’re worried about small people eating it, and add in glitter if you want. I just love the smell of baby oil on my kids. 😉

When we were finished playing, they swept up and we put the cover on. It’s now stored next to our own playdough, and ready to come out again and play sometime.