sensory

Foam Dough

~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

What do you get when you mix equal parts cornstarch and shaving cream? We shall call it super messy but fun Foam Dough. I saw this on Pinterest and thought I would give it a try. I mean it can’t get much easier then mixing two ingredients together…right?

Well what the pin did not tell me was that it takes a lot of mixing until you reach the desired texture. I was elbows deep in the stuff and my classroom looked like…well a classroom but the sh*t was everywhere. So after all the kids took turns “mixing” it, it started to become firmer, less gooey and crumbly and I could see the light.

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I added a little liquid water color

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Before I left for the day I bagged the stuff up, I am curious to see how it keeps. I have this feeling it will be rock hard tomorrow but who knows?

I would definitely make this again BUT I would either A. put all the ingredients in a sensory table outside and let the kids do their own thing with it.  Or B. pre make it in a big bowl near a sink and then give the kids the dough to manipulate. I think A. is the better choice. Then you can add in plastic knives, or play dough scissors. ,measuring cups, spoons, ect.

Colored Ice + Water {Sensory Play}

~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

Kaili loves playing in the water and I wanted to start incorporating colors but I am hesitant with using food coloring. The best part of water play for a toddler is pouring it all over the place.  It goes back to philosopher Jean Piaget’s Sensorimotor stage, toddlers learn by doing and these experiences help them understand cause and effect.

I will never forget years ago when I was teaching in OC. I made colored Gak using food coloring. The kids loved it but it turned their hands pink. No biggy right? I mean it will come off in the bath or at least in a day or two…Well one of my girls father was not happy to say the least. That was the last time I did that, I still haven’t recovered. So that is why I am hesitant with putting food coloring in any sensory activity.

Along with not wanting to turn my daughters skin different colors I also don’t want to ruin clothes, or our backyard flagstone. I decided instead of colored water, how about using colored ice cubes? I did use food coloring but I felt more comfortable with it in this form, call me crazy.

This is a perfect summer sensory activity. It will help keep the kids cool and it’s a learning experience. I still didn’t want do this activity in our backyard so I took it to the front yard and let her play in the water while we were having our block party.

In reality, Kaili is getting her top molars and thought the ice  would feel good on her teeth. I struggled with keeping the ice cubes out of her mouth and then decided this was not a great activity to do while a child is teething. We will try it again in a few months.