We came back from our trip to find a box with this Moon Dough play set waiting to be reviewed (sent to me by Team Mom). It was an instant hit! The barn was easy to set up, and we were all amazed at how easily the animals formed in their molds – they literally pop out of the barn door, ready for play! The dough is super soft, and lightweight. Our set came with blue, yellow, and white dough – which soon combined into a light green. I was happy to see that the set came with colors that mixed well! My kids have spent hours playing with this set so far, and I expect it to continue to entertain them for hours to come! The barn doubles as a prop to play with the animals in – there’s even a little door you can open to put an animal inside the barn. Emma usually stuffs three animals in there, and then uses a fourth animal to re-enact The Three Little Pigs – although, in this case it’s the three little horses/sheep/cows/chickens.
I’m very happy with this set, but I would hesitate to give it as a gift because the dough is super crumbly. It sweeps up really well, so to me it’s not a big deal, but I know a lot of moms get upset about crumbs on the floor. It is a FANTASTIC gift for a child dealing with allergies whose parents who don’t mind sweeping – besides being non-toxic, it’s hypoallergenic, and does not contain gluten, soy, wheat, casein, peanuts or eggs (I emailed their customer service for those details, and they responded very quickly). The clay never dries out, so you don’t have to worry about containers being closed tightly or dough being kept out too long.
Molding is the big strength of this dough; my kids tried making up some shapes and were frustrated by how easily it crumbled. We have other substances that are good for free building, though, and I’m happy to have this option for my kids to learn about using molds – and I love seeing them use the animals molded for hours of creative play!
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
@jeannine – we have your moon sand recipe on our “to try” list!
@Natalie – Thanks! That’s my goal =)
Interesting toy! I like to read your reviews, they are always very balanced and fair.
.-= Natalie´s last blog ..Computer Math Or Genie Who Was Let Out of the Bottle =-.
This reminds me of the homemade moon sand we made a few weeks ago. The kids loved it.
This would be a cool toy to review. I haven’t played with the moon dough either, just the moon sand, but it looks cool:-).
.-= Susana´s last blog ..Jesse is 49 Weeks Old =-.
We loved ours from Team Mom too. It does crumble but not more than Play Doh and that seems to be a big gift idea around here. Guess the moms in my group of friends are afraid of a little mess☺ I liked how it wasn’t sticky so it was easier to sweep off the floor. I agree that molding is it’s strength, hadn’t thought to try and make our own shapes out of it. I love that ER can make the animals on her own and I don’t have to help so it’s a good activity for me to set her up with while I prep dinner.
.-= Katie´s last blog ..My Shutterfly Experience =-.
Looks like fun! :)
.-= Elisa | blissfulE´s last blog ..kiddo quotes =-.
i had never heard of moon dough before, just moon sand. we havent tried either yet but definitely looking into trying one of them soon for the kids – I’m sure they would all love it :) thanks for the honest review!
.-= Jackie @ 3 Little Ones´s last blog ..Giveaway Ends Today! =-.
I love the picture of Lily playing with the big kids!
We have played with moon sand but never moon dough. I’m not a fan of moon sand, but my kids love it. We’ll have to look for this. I don’t mind messes, but the moon sand seems to get everywhere.
.-= Christy´s last blog ..Community Helpers =-.
@Christy – I’ve never tried moon sand. I think this is much finer – but it does still get everywhere.
It really is messy! We have some and I’m thinking it might be a good OUTSIDE activity!
.-= Our Nifty Notebook´s last blog ..Homeschool- Week 5 Review =-.
@ Our Nifty Notebook – I had that same thought!
I saw this over on Mom Tried It, and she had similar experiences. I’m still thinking if we’d want it here. I go back and forth.
.-= Ticia´s last blog ..Geography- Washington and what we did =-.
@Ticia – It is a neat sensory experience, and it’s worth it to me for that – but it definitely makes a mess, even if the mess is easy to clean up!
I like the imaginative play that would result from this. Farm animals are also great props to use when singing songs.
We started the week with different colored play doh and by today (despite me saying countless times to try and keep the colors separate) we ended up with that yukky brown color. The color does not seem to matter to my children (it seems to matter more to me).
I clicked over to your guest post that you wrote on The Train To Crazy and I came away from this post thinking about what a true inspiration you are and how your life experinces have given you true perpsective and an appreciation for what really matters.