Shaving Foam for Kids!
When you hear ‘shaving foam for kids’ do you automatically think that is wrong and should be ‘shaving foam for men? What if I suggested using shaving foam for kids as part of their creative play? Before you start open out a black bin liner and cover the workspace you are going to use. Fix the black bag firmly to the table using masking tape. Put an apron on each child and roll up their sleeves. Pre-frame beforehand that they are not allowed to put the foam in their mouth or up their nose.
Pump a blob of shaving foam about the size of three tennis balls on the table in front of each child. Add in some poster paint. Poster paints are safe for children to use and non-toxic. Allow each child to choose the colour they want in the foam. Shaving foam stimulates many of the childrens’ senses. For example the smell of the foam is nice, maybe it reminds them of the smell of Daddy’s face after he has shaved. The texture of the foam is soft. As the foam is easily manipulated children will have lots of fun spreading it out on the table, making shapes with it, drawing letters and numbers in it.
Although the children are playing they are also learning. This is a relaxing game for them. When they are moving the foam around on the table they are using their imagination. Allow them to experiment with it. When they are making shapes and drawing letters they are developing their fine motor skills. Mixing different colours of poster paint into the shaving foam is another wonderful opportunity for the child to learn about colour. What happens when you mix blue and yellow paint in the foam? What happens when you mix red and white? It is also a good opportunity to encourage conversation about colours and what happens when they are mixed together.
Children gain great pleasure by discovering things for themselves. Introduce some lollipop sticks and some leaves and notice how the children use them to play. There are no limitations on their imagination. You will be absolutely amazed at the ideas and stories they will come up with. So, even though you are probably thinking this is a very messy activity and maybe too much trouble, why not give it a go? The children will love it and you will be blown away by their creativity. You can’t put a price on a child’s smile and laughter. So think fun, laughter and shaving foam!