Whip up taste-safe sensory fun in minutes with our easy recipe for homemade play sand using Cheerios cereal!

Cheerios Play Sand

Attention parents!!

This edible play sand is the hit of the summer so far in our house! My girls have played with in non-stop for the past 2 days!

I can’t even get over how much they love this stuff…this morning as soon as they woke up, my daughters ran straight to dump the bag of play sand back into their play tray. No screens. No TV. Just good old fashioned imaginative play! My mama heart was so happy!

Cheerios play sand is light and airy, with a fluffier texture than beach sand, making it easy for little hands to scoop and play.

You only need two things for this activity: Cheerios cereal and a blender.

The other fabulous thing about this homemade play sand is that since it is made from cereal, it is totally taste-safe and edible! It is a safe activity for toddlers and fun enough that older kids will want to play too. My girls are 5 and 10, so yes, older kids really DO love it! There is something very soothing about its fluffy texture…it even smells yummy too!

You might be wondering, why make play sand? It’s summer…get a sandbox right?!

Well unfortunately for us, living in Texas means that it is often too hot for the kids to play outside during the summer. Last year we had 4 months straight of 100°+ days and extreme heat warnings. So I am always on the hunt for indoor play activities to keep the kids engaged! And this one was a winner!

For your convenience, I’ve included shop-able ad links to some of the products used to make this activity. Disclosure policy available here.

Ingredients

Plain Cheerios Cereal

Supplies Used

Instructions

Add Cheerios cereal to a blender or food processor.
Pulse until the cereal has a fine crumb consistency like sand.
You may need to work in batches, depending on the size of your blender.
Pour sand into a play tray or box and have fun!

Video Demo to Make Play Sand:

Prep Tips

Yield – To get the amount of play sand shown in the photos here, we used about 6-7 cups of dry cereal. You can make more or less depending on how many kids are playing or how much cereal you have on hand.
Cereal Type – While there are several other flavors of Cheerios, I recommend using the plain Cheerios. Flavored cereals will have a sugary coating that will make the play sand get sticky with any moisture from hands or humidity in the air.
Safety – Always supervise younger kids when playing with your homemade play sand.
Storage – Keep play sand in an airtight container or ziplock bag at room temperature. To keep it fresher, always wash hands before playing. If you notice any signs or mold or the sand looks dirty, toss it and make a new batch.
Clean-Up – Yes, it is inevitable that some of the “sand” will end up on the floor, but it vacuums up easily. Our dog helped out a lot with the cleaning too LOL.

More Sensory Play Activities To Try

Cheerios Play Sand Directions (Printable Recipe Card)

If you’ve tried this activity and loved it too, please rate it!

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box of Cheerios play sand with plastic beach toys.

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