Moon Sand

Moon sand or kinetic sand

Ingredients to make moon sand: plain flour and baby oil (or vegetable oil)

Mixing bowl and spoon

Containers, trays, or tuff trays

Scoops, cups, moulds, small toys (e.g., figures, cars)

AAC devices or communication boards

Wipes or cloths for cleaning up 

Introduce the moon sand/kinetic sand and make it available as an open, engaging sensory activity.

You might choose to make the moon sand together as part of the activity. A simple recipe is 8 parts flour to 1 part oil (e.g., 8 cups flour to 1 cup oil). Mix slowly until the sand holds its shape when squeezed but still crumbles easily.

This can create additional opportunities for shared interaction and modelling, such as “more,” “stop,” “help,” and “again.”

To encourage connection and meaningful interaction, take a total communication approach, where all communication is valued and welcomed. People communicate in all sorts of ways, such as movement, gesture, facial expression, vocalisation or AAC and recognising these forms of communication is important, as they can give insight into what someone may be thinking, feeling, and wanting to share.

Notice what the learner is doing or interacting with and model language to match it, without any expectation for them to respond. For example,

• If they reach for the sand, you could model: “want,” “get,” “more”
• If they start digging or scooping, you could model: “in,” “out,” “more”
• If they pour sand between containers, you could model: “in,” “go,” “again”
• If they explore with their hands or fingers, you could model: “feel,” “like”
• If they’re watching what’s happening, you could model: “look,” “see,” “want”
• If they stop playing or push something away, you could model: “stop,” “don’t like,” “finished”
• If they move away from the sand area, you could model: “go,” “all done,” “no”