The Imagination Tree

Creative play and learning for kids

Messy Play – Shaving Foam

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Cakie had her best bud J over to play this week and it gave us the perfect excuse to try out some more messy play fun! 
I have been wanting to do shaving fun play for a while but keep forgetting to buy it at the supermarket. 
This week I finally remembered to get some  and it was only 34p a can!

I sprayed a whole can of shaving foam into the empty water play table in the garden. I was originally planning on doing this inside and all I can say is, don’t do it! If we do it inside in the future it will be on a much smaller scale, probably in a deep plastic tray on the kitchen table.

I gave them some plastic bowls, a whisk, some wooden spoons and a plastic tea set.

Then other toys began to magically migrate from around the garden.

There was lots of spooning and pouring, whisking and stirring, squidging and fluffling, smearing and flicking, smooshing and squelching. 

Whisk, whisk, whisk! Some cooking role-play began to emerge at some point.

Shaving foam lemon meringue pie anyone?? Tasty-lish!

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Mmmm, sumptious piles of lemon cream!

Lots of wondering, exploring and thinking occurred.
 
Then we stirred in some blue and pink food colouring to add some extra interest. Oh wow! It coloured easily and was very satisfying and quick to see the results.

And we discovered blue and pink makes a very satisfying shade of purple. Ooo ,Yes please!

Then some “wasshinn Aappp” happened. This is good evidence that Mummy does actually wash up regularly! Good, old-fashinoned, imitative role-play 😉

Some lovely vocabulary emerged. “Oooh too sticky!”

And a whole heap of sensory exploration. Good job shaving foam smells SO good! Note: she is sniffing here, not tasting, though I have NO doubt that she did also taste it at some point. What can I tell you about this girl? She’s full on into life….

….And elbow deep in messy fun!

I think it’s safe to say they had lots of fun. Job done!

Helpful hint: Keep a towel draped over your arm for the moment when they decide they want to run inside and touch your prize furniture, or (as Cakie did) rub it into her eyes as soon as I told her not to!

Enjoy!

This post is linked to on:
No Time For Flash Cards

Comments

  3. cathy @ NurtureStore says

    We love sensory play. I know lots of people shy away from it because of the mess, so doing it outside is a great idea. I also find it works really well for older children as an after school activity – quite therapeutic and relaxing. Thank you so much for linking up with the Play Academy – hope you’ll join us this week too 🙂

  5. missdoofus says

    I love how toys always tend to “migrate” into the messy play.. I work in a nursery and every day when we clear up the messy tray I find all sorts of things in the water play/gloop/shaving foam etc… Shaving foam and food colouring is great, because it mixes so easily. I also recommend painting with shaving foam, it leaves a great 3D effect, and the children can explore and reapply the shaving foam, which doesnt work so well with paint..