Winter Sailing Sensory Play

For today’s sensory play we decided to go with a very simple way to recreate artificial snow since, sadly, there is no real snow outside although it’s a middle of winter!

Another great thing about this little adventure we recreated today: we got to repurpose several items from our home and turn them into toys! Always feels great when we don’t have to actually spend money on new toys to give kids something new to play! And fun!

So, how would you make an artificial snow for your kids?

Setup for winter sailing pretend play was really very simple: few little handmade boats (a bit later we’ll explain how we made them), water, and shaving foam, pretending to be snow, all together in a bin.

The toddler was so excited and came running to see what I’m preparing for her. Before everything was set up, she was already next to the bin asking: “Can I play with it now?”. Always great to see her excited about something new!

She tried blowing into boats and get them moving across the water. Each time boats would end in a shaving foam (snow) she would yell: “Mom, boat will sink!”. Of course, it didn’t sink. Mom made sure of it when she constructed her boats. At some point, little animal toys ended driving in boats! Driving around and sightseeing!

How to Make Bottle Cap Boats?

For each boat I used half of the cork. Stuck a toothpick in the middle of the cap and add the piece of paper (from scraps we had laying around) previously cut in a triangle shape and with 2 tiny holes for a sail.

I have used large bottle caps for a base to make sure they wouldn’t flip easily. Simply glue the cork to the inside of a bottle cap. I used a glue gun, but you can probably use any multi-purpose glue.

It wasn’t long before my toddler decided she wants to stick her hands in a “snow”! She loved the silky feel of the shaving foam and I had to add shaving cream three times before “Spring is here and all the snow has been melted!”. As you can see from the picture, she really enjoyed playing with shaving foam!

To get a bit more background about the importance of sensory play, we recommend you to read book Sensory Bins: the What, the How & the Why. It has basics covered with many play ideas, all in easy to understand language (for parents like me!). Another great book to check is 99 Fine Motor Ideas for Ages 1-5. Packed with fun things to do with toddlers and preschoolers!

In January, we are participating in 31 Day Sensory Play Challenge with the different daily sensory prompt. You can read more about this challenge over at Adventures of Adam.

TOMORROW WE ARE PLAYING WITH
SENSORY / DISCOVERY BOTTLES! 

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