How disgusting does our sensory activity sound today – Jello Brain Sensory Bin! As it was letter J in our A-Z of Sensory Play series we couldn’t resist using Jelly. Furthermore, once I had discovered a brain shape ice cube mold tray (UK – here) I knew we had to create Jelly brains.
This activity might sound gross to adults (Hey, mamas! I know it sounds to me!), but kids surely love it! So, take a shot and give them a chance to pick up inside a brain!
The previous night I made four small Jelly brains (UK – here). I added additional gelatin to the orange Jelly mixture to ensure that the Jello would set hard.
I also created a large brain using a huge brain mold (UK – here). I added the same jelly mixture to it but also included some plastic spiders. If a Jelly brain wasn’t disguising enough the spiders certainly were.
Just before play time I took the five Jelly brains out of their containers. The gelatin eased this process and all five brains retained their shape. I left out a variety of fine motor tools, including our Jumbo Tweezers, for my little ones to explore the Jelly.
I have to be honest, after seeing the five brains in the sensory bin I didn’t know if my son would play with them. The large brain with spiders looked particularly gruesome. Surprisingly though my son was not put off my the brain or the spiders. He saw the Jelly and decided that the spiders needed to be rescued.
The sensory bin turned into a great fine motor skill activity. My son spent ages trying to get the spiders out of the set Jelly. The first spider came out easily, but the others required lots of digging.
My son realised that he could use the Jumbo Tweezer (UK – here) to cut through the Jelly. He repeatedly sliced through the thick jelly until the brain was unrecognisable. After a great deal of excitement all of the spiders were removed from the Jelly.
I wonder what further gruesome play we can have in the future with our brain molds!
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