Make your own Magic Sand - it's easy and affordable

I teach in a few special ed classes, and my one class loves their "Magic Sand" bin.  I thought I would introduce my daughter to magic sand, but I wasn't as enthusiastic about the cost of store-bought magic sand.  I decided to try out a few recipes for "magic sand" for her to play with.  The one that I like the best is made of edible ingredients (although I don't think it would taste great), but it's completely safe for toddler use.  Tessa can sit for hours playing with it.  I bought an "under-the-bed" plastic tote to keep it in, and she happily buries her dinosaurs, dragons, animals and little cars in the sand.

Magic Sand Recipe

4 cups white flour

1/2 cup vegetable oil (or any cooking oil)

1/2 tablespoon powdered children's tempera paint (optional for colouring)

Mix all ingredients together with your hands.  Store in a covered container (it doesn't dry out, we just  cover it to keep the cat out).  To fill the bin shown, I used 4 batches of this recipe.  Tessa loves it!