When the weather prevents the kids from playing outside, it can be tricky to figure out what to do indoors. I like trying to play indoor games that get my kids moving so they can burn some energy, but the activities need to be safe so we are not injuring ourselves or breaking things inside!This indoor sensory activity combines shaving cream sensory play with a gross motor movement. I have tips for you so that the mess can be contained, and the experience can be safe and fun. The kids will get to move and play helping them stay occupied and burn some energy even though they are stuck playing indoors.
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To start, you need 4 supplies:
(all linked supplies are affiliate links)
–shaving cream (non-menthol, we use the cheap kind)
-a plastic mat, tablecloth, or drop cloth
–baking sheet (optional)
I placed the plastic mat on the floor, laid the baking sheet on top, and squirted about an entire can of shaving cream onto the baking sheet.
My son (4 at the time) started by playing with the shaving cream on the baking sheet with his hands. You can see he was kneeling down to get into it.
I had hoped to keep the shaving cream on the mat, but when my son got his feet involved things spread out a bit, but not much.
The boundary of the plastic mat was a great visual target of where to keep the shaving cream so the mess did not get overwhelming.
Next, he did stand up, and started stepping into the shave cream. We discussed being safe since the shaving cream is slippery. I told him to move slowly so that he did not slip.
Be careful with this sensory activity at your house. Always supervise, and talk through it with your child so they know when to slow down. My son did fall a couple of times, but he laughed and did not get hurt. Take it slowly and only do this with children who are secure on their feet (preschool and up, in my opnion).
The feet eventually were covered, and it made the activity a bit more challenging and got his whole body moving.
He had to work on balance, muscle control, and controlling his movements. This really is a gross motor workout with a lot of sensory fun!
You can see on his face, that my son was pretty excited doing this sensory and gross motor activity! He really had fun. When the mat was covered in shaving cream, he started skating in place. It reminded me of that workout from the 90s that was similar. I can still remember the infomercial…ha!
I was impressed with my son’s ability to keep most of the shaving cream contained. We did this activity on a day that I was going to mop the floors anyway, so the clean up was not extra. It was just part of the day anyway.Use the towel to wipe off feet and hands so that walking away from the activity does not leave tracks all through the house!
For younger children, you can try ashave cream sensory activity exploring shapes.
A few tips to keep things safe and make clean up easy:
1) Use the plastic mat for sure! Often all kids need is a visual reminder of where to contain their mess. Works for Lego play too.
2) Set this activity up on a day when you are going to clean the floor anyway. You won’t be doing extra cleaning, but just incorporating the clean up into the regular routine.
3) Stay close to supervise. This is very important! Activities like this can get messy and slippery, so stay close to help talk your child through it to stay at a safe speed.
To clean up:
Simply use the towel to wipe up any excess shaving cream.Take the plastic mat outside to rinse off with a hose, or rinse it off in the bathtub.So easy!
For some other indoor play ideas to get the kids moving on bad weather days, try this yoga mat hopscotch game or this one item activity.
Check out this list of 15 ways for the kids to have some messy sensory fun with their feet shared at Lemon Lime Adventures.
How have you played indoors to get the kids moving when you are stuck inside?
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