Ocean fun with shaving cream activity takes seconds to create and seconds to clean up. This activity can be washed down with a hose outside after play. It’s so simple and easy to clean!
Living in the country means bringing small amounts of ocean fun into play helps kids escape and create new scenarios.
Caution: If your child suffers from asthma or has allergies, you could try a sensitive shaving foam? Or our aqua faba activity made with chick pea juice.
All you need is…
- shaving cream
- food colouring
- small world animals and/or paddle pop sticks
What started off being an inside activity quickly turned into an outside activity. The food colouring in the shaving foam stained our hands and clothes so play clothes are essential.
Vocabulary
Use descriptive words during this activity will connect sensory neurons with verbal communication. Words like: “fluffy,” “soft,” “blue,” “squishy” and “light” gives meaning to play based learning.
This style of invitation to play tray, is a Montessori approach to learning. Promoting resources in vibrant colours makes children want to reach out and touch ocean foam to learn and critically think about it. They use their prior knowledge of foam and play out new constructed learning each time they play with foam, where that’s shaving foam, aquafaba or bubbles.
Practice Practice Practice
Ever heard the saying “practice makes perfect”? The same is said for anything to do with literacy. Using descriptive words builds preliteracy brain connections ready for formal education. Practicing sensory activities with verbal descriptive words will strengthen neural pathways in the brain. Learning takes time prior knowledge retrieval gets quicker and more efficient. This transfers quicker and more efficient later for classroom lessons.
Wanting more sensory activities to try?
- Aquafaba foam
- Jelly sensory
- Wet chickpea sensory
- Rainbow rice
- 7 Invitation to play tray ideas
- Rainbow crumbs
- How to make a baby sensory hoop
Written by: Sarah Courtney
Master of Education, Cognitive Psychology & Learning Practices.
