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  • Hi, I'm Vicky, the founder and content creator at Mess For Less. If you are looking for family-friendly recipes, recipes that kids can make, and play and learning activities for kids, you will find them at Mess For Less. I invite you to learn more about me. Thanks for stopping by!

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    Sensory Play - Soap Dough Recipe

    Published: Apr 10, 2013 · Modified: Apr 29, 2022 by Vicky · This post contains affiliate links.

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    If you have been around Pinterest for a while, you have probably seen the Ivory Soap Experiment where soap placed in the microwave expands to many times it's size. We did our own soap experiment and then added some food coloring and shaving cream to make a moldable Soap Dough Recipe. It's easy to create a fun sensory activity with just a few basic ingredients. For another fun sensory activity, check out Garden Sensory Bin.

    Sensory Soap Dough Recipe - It's simple to create this fun soap dough and kids will have a BLAST playing with it!

     Soap Dough Recipe

    You will need:

    • Bar of soap (I know Ivory Soap works; we used Jergan's Pure and Natural Mild Soap)
    • Microwave and microwave safe plate
    • Food coloring
    • Shaving cream

    This experiment is usually done with Ivory soap but I didn't want to make a special trip out to get some, so we used Jergan's Pure and Natural Mild Soap which we found at the dollar store. I would recommend using one of these two soaps as I can't guarantee any other bar soap will work.

    Before we started, I passed around a bar of soap and asked the kids to describe it. They said it was hard, smooth and smelled good.

    child smelling soap

    We placed the bar of soap on a microwave safe dish and put in in the microwave. Within a few seconds the soap started to grow. It looked like smoke or clouds. We would stop it every so often so that the kids could see what it looked like. They were so impressed! Lots of "wows" were heard in the kitchen. We discussed what happened to the soap and their responses were "it melted" and "it became a cloud."

    Exploding soap

    I added a few drops of food coloring to the soap and mixed it up with my hands. The food coloring doesn't entirely mix in with the soap, but it does give it a nice tint. Please make sure the soap is cool before touching and do not let your children touch the soap until you are certain it is cool. It is very hot when it comes out of the microwave.

    I also added some shaving cream to the mixture. The shaving cream acts almost like a binder to make the soap moldable. You don't want to over do it with the shaving cream. Add a little at a time until it forms a moldable dough with the soap.

    I put the dough in containers and gave my kids some cups and spoons to use with it.

    Making soap dough

    We made a few batches of the dough since we bought a 3 pack of the soap. One of my daughters really wanted pink dough.

    sensory soap

    The kids wanted some candles so they could make birthday cakes. Time to blow out the candles!

    child playing with soap dough

    We just used the dough one time so I am not sure how it would store. I love how this activity combined a sensory experience with a fun experiment.

    Simple experiments are fun for kids and stress-free for parents. The Spangler Science Club delivers hands-on science activities to your door each month.

     If you liked this soap dough recipe, check out some more sensory fun:

    Painting with Shaving Cream

    Creative Play with Water Beads

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. creativelyobsessed

      May 29, 2013 at 4:13 pm

      Would also be great for inside and outside water play!

    2. Jane

      May 02, 2013 at 12:24 am

      What if you don't have a microwave?

    3. Jane

      May 02, 2013 at 12:23 am

      What if you don't have a microwave?

    4. Diana - FreeStyleMama

      April 29, 2013 at 5:29 pm

      Very cool activity!

    5. Rebecca English

      April 28, 2013 at 8:23 am

      Oh this looks wonderful fun!

      Thanks for linking to the Sunday showcase.

    6. Beth Gorden

      April 26, 2013 at 10:36 am

      What a wonderful activity! You come up with such fun, playful things to do!!

      I am adding it to my bugger to share on social media this week. I am also pinning it to my Preschool Play and Learn Board.

      Thanks for linking up to TGIF! I hope to see you linked up again later today =)

      Have a great weekend,
      Beth

    7. PinkOddy

      April 23, 2013 at 12:26 pm

      That looks really great and my youngest is trying to learn the differences between textures/surfaces etc - so that it can change from hard to soft would be a really good activity to show him.

      Visiting via Tuesday Tots on Rainy Day Mum

    8. Reduce, Reuse, Renewed

      April 19, 2013 at 2:48 pm

      What a great snow day activity!

    9. Tammy - housingaforest.com

      April 11, 2013 at 5:15 am

      Love, love, love! I am so excited to know that another brand of soap works! We will have to try it again soon and make your recipe:) Looks like lots of fun.

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    Hi, I'm Vicky, the founder and content creator at Mess For Less. If you are looking for family-friendly recipes, recipes that kids can make, and play and learning activities for kids, you will find them at Mess For Less. I invite you to learn more about me. Thanks for stopping by!

    Spring Activities and Recipes

    • simple meringue recipe 1
      Spring Meringue Recipe
    • no bake twinkies cake
      No Bake Twinkies Cake for Spring
    • Spring preschool worksheets3
      Free Spring Preschool Worksheets
    • kids made bird seed wreath 1
      Kid Made Bird Seed Wreath

    Kids Recipes

    • easy owl rice cakes 8
      Easy Owl Rice Cakes
    • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Crescents 8
      Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Crescents
    • monster cookie energy balls 12
      Monster Cookie Energy Balls
    • kid made english muffin pizza 11
      Kid Made English Muffin Pizzas

    Popular Recipes

    • crack chicken casserole 10
      Crack Chicken Casserole
    • overnight egg casserole 12 1
      Overnight Egg Casserole
    • toasted italian sandwich 2
      Toasted Italian Sandwich - Food Fun Friday
    • chicken broccoli alfredo bake 6
      Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Bake

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