In this BLOG post I will share sixteen different SNOW-themed sensory activities! FREE Winter Activity Pack at the end!
You get to decide what is safe and manageable in your home. Always monitor young children.
FREE Winter Activity Pack at the end of the BLOG!
Fluffy Slime
Materials:
1/2 cup of white Elmers liquid glue
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 tablespoon of contact lenses solution
3 cups shaving cream
Glitter (optional)
Food coloring (optional)
Mixing bowl
Mixing cup/spoon
Sensory tray or bowl
The type of contact lenses solution matters! This serves as your activator and what turns your slime into the stretchy, smooth texture that it is! Be sure to look at the ingredients; it needs to contain boric acid!
Step 1: Pour the glue into the bowl.
Step 2: Add the baking soda, food coloring and glitter (if using) and mix well.
Step 3: Add the shaving cream. Slowly add the contact lenses solution and stir. As you continue to stir, you will see the slime begin to take shape. Once it is formed into a ball, pulling away from the sides of the bowl, it is ready!
Step 4: Grab the slime and knead it well. This will assure that all of the materials are incorporated well.
Step 5: Drop it on your sensory tray or bowl and PLAY!!!
You can add in your favorite play dough tools, cookie cutters and/or trinkets. OR just play as is, the more you stretch and squish and squeeze the dough, the stronger your fingers get!
Snowman Scoop + Pour
Materials:
White rice- you can add a mix of other pastas but white rice works perfect for this!
Plastic container
Scoops/bowls
Sensory tray or bowl
Step 1: Gather your materials and put the white rice in a bowl.
Step 2: Add in you plastic cups and bowls. I drew a snowman face on mine, but you do not have to!
Step 3: Use the scoops to practice filling the cups/bowls!
Winter-Themed Chickpeas
Read all about Winter Chickpeas HERE!!!
SNOW Recipe #1
Mix 2 cups of baking soda with 1-2 tablespoons of water.
You can't go wrong with this simple recipe! You want to add a little water at a time so that it forms a paste-like texture. It should form a ball but still crumble easily. This recipe felt cool and smooth and felt most like "wet snow."
This recipe is technically taste-safe. I would not encourage anyone eating baking soda in large quantities but if/when someone sneaks a taste it is safe. It also will likely not taste good, which will hopefully deter them from taking a taste in the future!
Snow Recipe #2
Mix 2 cups of cornstarch with 1 cup of hair conditioner.
This recipe is soft and squishy and has a smooth texture to it. It is a bit crumblier than the other recipes, but you can still form a ball and make a snowman with it!
APFL Tip: You want to slowly add the conditioner in. If you add too much you will end up with Cloud Dough, which is SO much fun but more of a play dough consistency then a SNOW recipe. You want it to still be soft and squishy and not firm!
This recipe is NOT taste-safe.
Snow Recipe #3
Mix 3 cups of baking soda with 1/2-1 cup of hair conditioner.
This is our go-to recipe and the one we gravitate towards the most. We like to use coconut scented conditioner to add an extra layer of sensory goodness to our play!
You can't mess it up, promise. If it feels too sticky, add a bit more baking soda. If it is too dry, add a bit more conditioner.
This recipe is NOT taste-safe.
APFL Tip: Pop it in the freezer for 30 minutes before playing and it will be cold like real snow!
SNOW recipe #4
Mix 2 cups of baking soda with 2 cups of shaving cream.
This recipe felt soft and "wet" and had a smooth texture to it. You could form a ball or crumble it like snow. The two cups didn't make a ton of mixture but it was really fun to explore. Next time I make it for my four kids I will double or even triple the recipe!
I do find with shaving cream recipes that they tend to dissolve quicker and don't last as long! But this is still fun and squishy and a great way to explore "snow" inside!
This recipe is NOT taste-safe.
Fizzy SNOW
Materials:
(3) cups Baking Soda
3-4 tablespoons of water
White vinegar
Food coloring (optional)
Pipette or medicine dropper
Sensory bin or bowls
Spoon
Scoops, bowls, trinkets etc
Step 1: Pour baking soda and conditioner in a tub or tray and mix well.
Step 2: Add in your favorite scoops or bowls and PLAY!!
Once of the fun of the snow starts to wear off (it may not wear off because snow is so fun!!!), here is the BEST way to keep the play going!
Step 3: In a cup, mix half white vinegar and half water with a few drops of food coloring.
Step 4: Add in a pipette or medicine dropper. Squeeze and squirt the mixture over the snow and watch the magic happen!! It will bubble and fizz. The colors will mix. The snowman will "melt." It is so engaging
Frozen Fizzy SNOW
Materials:
Snowflake mold or ice cube tray
Sensory tray or bowl
Baking soda
Water
White vinegar
Pipette or medicine dropper
Food coloring (optional)
Glitter (optional)
Step 1: Grab a snowflake silicone mold. If you do not have a snowflake mold, use a regular ice cube tray. These are just as fun as cubes!
Step 2: In a bowl, pour in 2 cups baking soda and 1/2 cup of water. Mix.
Step 3: If you are using glitter, sprinkle it into the bottom of the mold now. Then, fill the mold with the mixture. Freeze for a few hours until solid.
Step 4: Once frozen, place in a sensory tray or bowl. In a cup or bowl, mix together half water and half white vinegar. If you are using food coloring, squirt 3-5 drops in now.
Step 5: Use a pipette or medicine dropper and squirt the mixture onto the snowflakes. Watch as they bubble and fizz!
Frozen Snowflake Pom Poms
Materials:
Snowflake mold or ice cube tray
Pom Poms
Sensory tray or bowl
Tools to rescue the objects
Step 1: Grab a plastic or metal bowl, an ice cube tray, a silicone ice cube mold or a cake/baking pan.
Step 2: Add in your favorite Pom Poms & add water.
Step 3: Freeze for a few hours (length will depend on size and shape that you use.)
Step 4: When frozen, place in a sensory tray or bowl, add medicine droppers, pipettes, squirt bottles or wooden mallets. Also add a few cups or a bowl or warm water.
Step 5: Rescue your treasures!! Squirt, squeeze & bang away until they are free of the ice!
SNOWbleck
Materials:
(2) cups Cornstarch
(1) cup Water
Sensory bin or bowls
Spoon
Foam beads
Food coloring (optional )
Glitter (optional)
If you want to do colors, repeat the above measurements for each color! I mix the food coloring into the water first, then pour it into the cornstarch. This helps it to mix smoother.
Step 1: Pour corn starch, water, and food coloring in a tub or tray and mix well.
Step 2: Add in your favorite scoops or bowls and PLAY!!
Make observations as you play:
How does it smell?
How does it feel?
What happens when you add more water to the Oobleck bin?
What does it look like as it dries?
Explore color theory: what happens when you mix red and yellow together?
APFL TIP: If you let Oobleck completely dry out and harden, you can store it in an airtight container. The next time you want to use it, simply add water to reactivate!
SNOW ring Sensory Bin
Materials:
Your uncooked sensory base filler of choice (this is Anellini pasta-like SpaghettiOs!)
Metallic Paint
Ziploc bag or container with lid
Parchment paper or Foil
Baking sheet
Step 1: Line the baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Set aside.
Step 2: For every 1 cup of your dry sensory base, add 4-5 squirts of paint and mix well.
Step 3: Pour dyed filler onto the lined baking sheet and spread out.
Step 4: Let dry for 30 minutes to an hour. Lay out in the sun if possible & it will dry even quicker!
Step 5: PLAY!!!
Winter Blue Sensory Bin
Materials:
Your uncooked sensory base filler of choice (this is a mix of anellini pasta, chickpeas, star pasta & couscous)
Metallic Paint
Ziploc bag or container with lid
Parchment paper or Foil
Baking sheet
Step 1: Line the baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Set aside.
Step 2: For every 1 cup of your dry sensory base, add 4-5 squirts of paint and mix well.
Step 3: Pour dyed filler onto the lined baking sheet and spread out.
Step 4: Let dry for 30 minutes to an hour. Lay out in the sun if possible & it will dry even quicker!
Step 5: PLAY!!!
Check out our BLOG post on monochromatic sensory play HERE!
Materials:
Your uncooked sensory base filler of choice (this is a mix of anellini pasta, chickpeas, star pasta & couscous)
Metallic Paint
Ziploc bag or container with lid
Parchment paper or Foil
Baking sheet
Step 1: Line the baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Set aside.
Step 2: For every 1 cup of your dry sensory base, add 4-5 squirts of paint and mix well.
Step 3: Pour dyed filler onto the lined baking sheet and spread out.
Step 4: Let dry for 30 minutes to an hour. Lay out in the sun if possible & it will dry even quicker!
Step 5: PLAY!!!
Check out our BLOG post on monochromatic sensory play HERE!
Snowflake Craft
Materials:
Craft sticks
Liquid glue
Glitter
Sensory tray or bowl
Step 1: Gather your materials and put out a sensory tray or bowl to catch the drips.
Step 2: Use a hot glue gun or liquid glue to make the snowflake. Criss-cross 4 craft sticks to make this design. Let the glue dry.
Step 3: Add liquid glue across the top of the design and shake glitter over the top. Shake off the excess glitter on the tray!
Step 4: Let dry and hang up!
SNOW Dough
Materials:
Cornstarch
Hair conditioner or lotion
Mixing cup
Bowl
Spoon
Sensory tray or bowl
Any tools or trinkets you'd like
Step 1: Measure and pour (1) cup of conditioner or lotion into the bowl.
Step 2: If you are adding food coloring or glitter, mix it in now.
Step 3: Pour in (2) cups of cornstarch.
Step 4: Mix all of the ingredients until fully incorporated. After you mix your dough, it may still look a bit crumbly. Here's where your hands get a workout! Take the mixture out & knead it. The more you squish & squeeze & smoosh the dough, the softer it gets! As all of the ingredients blend together, the dough becomes silky soft, easy to mold & perfect for little hands.
Step 5: Place it on your sensory tray or bowl, add in your favorite tools and trinkets and PLAY!
Here is our FREE winter activity pack!! Click HERE!!
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