A Festive Book & 2-Ingredient Snow Play!
After reading Caralyn Buehner’s “Snowmen at Christmas” we decided to try out a new recipe we’d seen on @allthatlifemaybring’s Instagram Feed. This activity was so successful that my daughter spent 5+ HOURS engaged in it! I’m excited to share, so let’s get started…
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Summary of “Snowmen at Christmas”
“Snowmen at Christmas” by Caralyn Buehner and illustrated by Mark Buehner is a festive book showing one child’s belief of how snowmen celebrate the holidays. Whimsical illustrations and rhyming text make this a great holiday read aloud.
2-Ingredient Snow Play?
You might be wondering… “What do you do with it?” or “How is this not just going to be a sensory mess?” There are many ways to answer these two common questions…
First, the most basic answer to “What you could do with 2-Ingredient Snow Play?” is… have Messy Fun. Sensory play at its finest is not about “doing” something specific. It is about exploring, feeling, listening, watching, problem solving, creating, etc… This is an open-ended activity. Just as each child has their own unique personality, experience, and preference in play, the outcome of this activity is just as special.
As for the second question, Yes, this is definitely a messy one! But, I hear you. I’ve been asked that question many times. Therefore, a detailed answer, along with strategies for successful messy sensory play, can be found by reading, “What about the Sensory Mess?”
What We Did with 2-Ingredient Snow Play…
We tend to keep the activities as simple as possible around here. We’re not interested in complicated or costly. We are also all about fostering independence. For this activity we mixed together the baking soda & the shaving cream with a whisk in a bowl until well combined & dumped it on a tray. It had a very similar consistency as snow without being so cold (although I have heard of people freezing the baking soda to add that effect as well 😉 ).
It was interesting to feel the texture and it easily stuck together to make snow people. My daughter & I made a snow mom and a snow baby. We added iron beads to create the facial features & buttons. Then she went and got some felt and cut some scarves for them to wear. She engaged in some pretend play with the snow people, having them talk to one another and so on. As time passed she added a snow dog too.
Painting the “Snow”?
After a while I suggested she try using watercolor paint like we often do with real snow. She decided to smooth out the “snow” first to create her canvas & she made a beautiful painting of a…yep, you guessed it… a unicorn! I was impressed with how easy it was to paint it & how vibrant the colors remained.
Next we got out the vinegar, some droppers and squeeze bottles. Making things fizz is definitely a favorite around here, but the longterm bubbles this made was a pleasant surprise. I suppose the shaving cream is to thank. My daughter (and I) had a blast listening to the fizz of the vinegar hitting the “snow” and watching colorful bubbles appear and stay long enough to touch them and hold them in our hands. You can see this in action by checking out our “Story Highlights” on Instagram.
Lastly she ended the activity with more imaginative play; pretending to make a “rainbow stew” out of the soupy vinegar soiled “snow”. To say this activity was a success would be an understatement. We will definitely be repeating this activity throughout the year!
I would suggest 2-Ingredient Snow Play if you’re looking for a multidimensional & engaging activity to connect with your child. If you’re looking for more winter themed bookish play, you might wanna check out our Bunny Slopes, Walking in a Winter Wonderland, or Penguins Don’t Wear Sweaters posts!
Materials We Used
- “Snowmen at Christmas” by Caralyn Buehner (from the library or buy it here)
- Baking soda
- Shaving Cream
- Bowl
- Tray
- Whisk
- Watercolor paint
- Vinegar
- Dropper
- Iron beads (optional)
- Squeeze bottle
- Felt (optional)
Click HERE for Free Printable copy (Email Subscribers Only)
How to Make 2-Ingredient Snow Play?
- Open the box of baking soda.
- Pour the entire box into the bowl.
- Squirt a generous amount of shaving cream into the bowl with the baking soda.
- Mix thoroughly with a whisk.
- Add more shaving cream until it begins to look like snow and is moldable.
- Pour the “snow” onto a tray.
- You can use felt to make scarves for the snow people.
- You can use iron beads to create faces & buttons on the snow people.
- Paint the snow with watercolor paints for artistic fun.
- When you are finished using the “snow” use droppers or squeeze bottles to squirt vinegar onto the “snow” for bubbly fizzing fun.
Click HERE for Free Printable copy (Email Subscribers Only)
Wait, There’s More…
I believe you can easily strengthen communication skills and foster independence all while playing and connecting with your child. To help you do this; I’ve created a FREE printable for each activity called, “Communicating & Connecting”.
It will give you a list of suggestions I’ve found very helpful as a Mom & as a special education teacher; to help you build lifelong skills. Please don’t feel obligated to do everything on the list (but if you do, you’re a rockstar 😉 ).
As a Thank You for subscribing; this is a special FREEBIE for our Email Subscribers Only. 🙂 Click here if you’ve already subscribed. Otherwise, Sign Up below to get the password & access to our entire FREE Printables Library today! 😉
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