In this BLOG post I will teach you how to make pumpkin fluff, the benefits of messy play and tips to contain the mess.
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XO Gina
Pumpkin Fluff is such a fun sensory experience. It is soft, squishy and a bit textured from the pumpkin. It works great with any fall trinkets, but also works perfect with shells, rocks, sticks, dinos, farm animals or diggers.
It is perfect for scooping and squeezing and only requires TWO ingredients!
This has an extra layer of sensory goodness because it SMELLS AMAZING!! Your home and your hands will smell like fall and it is a delight to your senses!
What skills are you working on during messy play?
Fine & Gross Motor Skills: As the child squishes and squeezes, they are developing their finger and hand muscles. Those same finger and hand muscles are responsible for self-help skills such as: feeding yourself, zippering your coat and holding a pencil during writing! Messy play can also help support spatial awareness, balance & coordination.
Hand-Eye Coordination: Hand-eye coordination is simultaneously using your hands & your eyes for a task. Strong hand-eye coordination helps you with tasks such as feeding yourself, coloring in the lines & pouring a drink in a cup.
Bilateral coordination: Using both sides of the body to complete a task.
Cognitive development refers to how a child acquires and understands information; how they think, learn and problem solve. There are many opportunities to develop cognitive development during messy play through problem solving and understanding cause/effect.
Language Development: Messy play is SO good for supporting language development. There are opportunities to learn new words and practice phrases.
Social Skills: Messy play can help to establish and strengthen social skills. Children will practice using their manners, sharing, turn-taking and having patience.
Clean up-tips:
For easy clean up: keep wipes nearby, along with a plastic bag or trash bin to discard.
Wear old clothes or a bathing suit, and plan to head to the tub after this fun sensory play!
Take it outdoors! Wash it off with a hose when you're done.
Use an old beach towel or sheet under the bins to catch any spills.
Storage:
Shaving cream recipes (in my opinion) are more of a one-time use activity. We set it up in the morning and play with it all day! The shaving cream ends up breaking down. You can extend it a few days if you want!
How to encourage messy play?
Start small. Put a tiny amount in a bowl and explore with it to see how it feels!
Play with them! Roll up your sleeves and get messy with them.
Let them know that getting messy is OK.
Have a clean-up strategy so that they can wipe their hands quickly if it becomes too much. Maybe have a towel in their lap or wipes right next to them.
Encourage starting with just one finger. "Poke the Oobleck with your pointer finger. How does it feel?"
Materials:
Shaving cream
Pumpkin puree
Sensory tray or bowl
Scoops, bowls and/or trinkets
Step 1: Gather your materials and pick your play space.
Step 2: Add two cups of pumpkin puree and mix it with one cup of shaving cream. You can increase these measurements for a larger quantity!
Step 3: If the child is able, you can allow them to squirt the shaving cream as they need it- this is EXCELLENT for strengthening fine motor skills. Mix well until all of the ingredients are incorporated together, it should be light and fluffy.
Step 4: Add in your favorite scoops, bowls and/or trinkets.
Step 5: PLAY!
IMPORTANT:
This is NOT a taste-safe recipe. If you have children who are still exploring with their mouths, I suggest saving this recipe for later. You can substitute shaving cream for whipped cream!
You get to decide what is safe and manageable in your home. Always monitor young children.