Homemade sugar sand is a fun sensory activity to do with your kids. You can make sugar sand in any color or fragrance you want. Kids can enjoy scooping it up, sculpting it and even hiding small objects under the sand. Easily make your own sugar sand using ingredients you have in the kitchen!
Sugar sand is technically edible and it tastes similar to fondant. It’s non-toxic, especially if you use food-based fragrances and colorants. However, I don’t advise eating sugar sand in large amounts. The soap fragrance that we used for our sugar sand is NOT edible. The sugar provides the sandy texture and helps the sugar sand to stick together for sculpting when moistened.
Sugar Sand Highlights
Scented: We made sugar sand scented with blueberry and strawberry soap fragrance. You could also experiment with adding food-based extracts and essential oils to your sugar sand.
Colored: I used food coloring to create the bright colors for our sugar sand. Gel food coloring will be brighter than water-based food coloring.
Interactive: It’s especially fun to hide small treasures in the sand for your child to discover. Kids can also help mix in sensory add-ins such as glitter, beads and small pom poms.
Customized: Make a boy’s sensory bin by adding small legos, tiny dinosaurs, beads and rocks for boys to excavate and discover. Make a girls’s princess box by adding barbie shoes, sequins, small dolls and over-sized beads.
Blueberry scented sugar sand
How to Make Sugar Sand
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups cornstarch
- 1 to 2 tbsp. water
- Food coloring
- Fragrance or essential oils (optional)
Instructions
In a food processor, mix together 2 cups of sugar with 2 cups of cornstarch until fully blended and “sandy”.
Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water as desired to help the sugar sand stick together. More water will make the sand stickier.
Add 1 to 2 drops of soap fragrance or essential oils.
Add a few drops of food coloring.
Blend the sugar sand in the food processor until all the ingredients are fully mixed.
Dump the sugar sand into a plastic bin, add some tiny treasures, and enjoy exploring!
Strawberry scented sugar sand
Sugar Sand Sensory Bin
Create a sensory bin using this homemade sugar sand! Use a plastic storage container to hold the sand. Add a variety of small characters, creatures, large jewels, ice rocks, beads and pom poms to the box. Include a scoop and a toy magnifying glass.
Kids will be excited to dig around and discover so many treasures! Sensory bins are a great interactive activity for kids. Once your child is done exploring, you can put the lid on the box to save until next time.
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I used our blueberry sugar sand to create a Frozen-inspired sensory bin for my daughter. Anna and Elsa look right at home surrounded by so many sparkly blue things. Playing with sugar sand is an engaging hands-on kids activity. I remind my kids to keep the sand inside the box if they want to keep playing with it.
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Bring the Beach Home with Sugar Sand
Playing with sugar sand is also a fun way for kids to explore different textures, just like a child would experience at the beach. My daughter mixed some star sprinkles into her pink sugar sand. I spread out a vinyl tablecloth on the floor so she could dump out her sugar sand and play “beach”. If some sugar sand does get on the floor, it’s easy to sweep up.
Sugar Sand Cupcakes & Castles
Finally, if you add extra water, sugar sand gets really sticky! You can sculpt it into cupcakes, a sand castle, and even creatures using sand molds. When you want to dry it out again, just put your homemade sugar sand back into the food processor. Add more cornstarch and blend it until it’s back to its original sandy texture.
I hope your kids enjoy playing with this DIY sugar sand. You can easily make this sensory sand using ingredients you have in your kitchen. Who knew sugar and cornstarch could be so much fun!?
Hi, I’m Katie! I live with my husband and 3 kids in beautiful Coeur d’Alane, Idaho. I love Jesus, coffee, DIY projects, photography, homeschooling my kids, traveling, and serving people. I’ve previously worked as a graphic designer, web designer, journalist and barista. I started Create. Play. Travel. to share some of our creative projects and family adventures. I hope you enjoy the highlights of our creative family life!
I am trying this sand, however mine is very dry and more like just playing with cornstarch. Are the measurements correct?
Hi, this sugar sand is pretty light when you first make it. Our last few sugar sand photos at the bottom of this post show a little bit of water mixed in. Sugar and cornstarch sand gets really sticky when wet and kids can sculpt it. When you want to dry it out again, just put it back into the food processor with more cornstarch and blend until it’s back to its original sandy texture.
This is an awesome idea. I was wondering if you could add a Kool-Aid pack for scent and color?
We haven’t tried adding Kool-Aid but that’s a good idea. Next time. 🙂