Sensory play is wonderful for small children and has numerous benefits including an improvement in motor skills and language development as well as helping them learn more about their environment.
The Clamber Club teachers love sensory play and it is wonderful how they experiment for us moms so that we don’t have to (because who has the time to figure out the right recipe for foamy sand). This month Charmaine from Clamber Club Babies in Craighall Park has shared her recipe (and variations) for foamy sand with us.
To make Charmaine’s sand you need:
• Approximately 3 cups of clean sand (you can use sandpit sand)
• A can of shaving cream or a can of whipped cream (the kind with the spray nozzle)
Method
1. Place your sand into a big container (those plastic shells work well, otherwise a blow up pool will also work)
2. Spray in about half the can of shaving cream to start with
3. Mix well. You will need to mix it with your hands otherwise the shaving cream doesn’t get mixed into the sand properly. This is a wonderful sensory experience for your children and they will love helping and getting stuck in. Gather up handfuls of the sand and shaving cream and squeeze together. The shaving cream gives the sand a fantastic foamy texture and feel.
4. If after mixing in half a can the sand isn’t foamy enough, feel free to add in more. I am sure that your little ones won’t complain.
5. You can either let your smaller children climb right in and play with the foamy sand or you can place your container on a table and allow them to reach in and play with it (depending on how brave you are feeling).
This blow up pool contains the sand and whipped cream, and is apparently very tasty!
If you have younger babies and are worried about them trying to eat the mixture then feel free to use the whipped cream instead of the shaving cream. As Charmaine reported it doesn’t foam as well as the shaving cream does but it is safer for babies (because as gross as it sounds apparently babies don’t mind eating sand, I think mine have consumed about half a sandpit worth by now). Charmaine also tried a version with yoghurt however this made the sand too wet.
Squishing the shaving cream and sand mixture is fascinating to little children.
The shaving cream and sand mixture can be used a couple of times before the sand dries out however please remember that the whipped cream and sand mixture cannot be re-used as it is dairy.
A big thank you to Charmaine (and her willing guinea pigs) for this fun sensory play idea. I am looking forward to trying it with my little ones and I am very grateful that I don’t have to go through all the experimentation!
Contributed by Clamber Club Franchisee, Charmaine from Clamber Club Babies – Craighall Park.