Posted on 3 Comments
Bubble wrap is so much fun to play with and these easy bubble wrap sensory play ideas will keep your kids your kids playing for ages!
Grab some recycled bubble wrap and try our super easy shaving cream and bubble wrap sensory play, or give one of the other easy bubble wrap sensory activities a go with your kids!
Do your kids LOVE messy sensory play?
Do they love squishing their hands through something gooey and slippery and slimy?
Sensory play is so good for our kids, it helps them develop crucial cognitive skills by engaging multiple senses and offering lots of opportunities for learning. Hands-on exploration during sensory play also helps kids refine fine motor skills, and offers lots of opportunities for scientific thinking, language and social development, as well as helping with self regulation and emotional development.
But sometimes messy play seems like such a huge, time consuming production, that we just can’t face it, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
This simple shaving cream and bubble wrap sensory play activity is one of the quickest, easiest, sensory play set ups you’ll ever try, and it cleans up pretty easily too!
TIP: if your kids love sensory play check out these super easy sensory play ideas, or for more shaving cream fun try this shaving cream painting activity.
Shaving Cream and Bubble Wrap Sensory Play
You only need a few things to set up this easy sensory play activity, and it you can set it up in just a few minutes.
Supplies for Shaving Cream and Bubble Wrap Sensory Play
To set up this fun messy play activity you’ll need:
- a table or area on the floor – head outside to make clean up even easier!
- a large sheet of recycled bubble wrap
- shaving cream
- tape – optional but recommended
- paint, liquid water colours, or food colouring – optional but fun
- a smock, apron, or naked child!
- a cloth or wipes to wipe up any spills.
Setting Up the Shaving Cream and Bubble Wrap Messy Play Activity.
The best way to keep mess to a minimum is to clearly define the play space for sensory play.
For this activity, tape the babble wrap to a table or the floor and remind your child to keep the shaving cream on the bubble wrap. This will help contain the mess, and make clean up really easy!
Squirt some shaving cream onto the bubble wrap and add a few squirts of colour or dollops of paint if you like.
Adding colour is optional, it will up the mess factor slightly, and be aware that some food colouring and paint can stain. We used liquid water colours which add a bright vivid colour and clean up really easily.
Pop on a smock (or go shirt-less) and explain to your preschooler that they need to be careful not to get the shaving cream in their eyes… and then let them go to town!
The bubble wrap adds and extra sensory dimension to this activity!
Talking to your child about what they are doing and how it feels is a great way to encourage language development. Use lots of fun words like – squidgy, slimy, slippery, bumpy, ridgy, bubbly etc.
The kids can mix the colour and see what happens. They might like to make ‘mountains’ from the shaving cream or serve up handfuls of ‘ice cream! Or they might just like running their hands over the slippery bubble wrap to feel the sensations.
Cleaning Up the Bubble Wrap and Shaving Cream Sensory Play.
This activity is messy, but it is’t hard to clean up!
When you are done playing hand washing is easy thanks to the soapy shaving foam. If your child has more than their hands covered, pop them in the bath.
Cleaning up the table is super easy, just un-tape the bubble wrap, fold it up, and throw it away. Done!
If you want to reuse the bubble wrap you can put it on the bottom of the bath for even more sensory fun and easy clean up – just be careful, it will be slippery at first!
More Bubble Wrap Sensory Play Ideas
Bubble wrap is such a great recycled material to use for sensory play, and there are so many fun ways to use it!
- Make a bubble wrap sensory walk
Simply tape a big piece of bubble wrap onto the floor and let your kids walk, jump, stomp, crawl or roll along it, or even ride their bikes over it to experience how to feels on their body and how it sounds when the bubbles pop! - Paint on bubble wrap
This big bubble wrap painting activity is all about the sensory experience, and not so much about making a finished art product. - Pop bubble wrap to music!
Give those small muscles in hands and fingers a workout by trying to pop bubble wrap in time with some music! - Add some bubble wrap to finger painting.
We made some bubble wrap ‘mittens’ to add to the finger painting fun! - Add bubble wrap to the bottom of your water table
Adding a sheet of bubble wrap to the bottom of your water play activity adds a new sensory experience to a favourite activity.
- Mess free bubble wrap painting – from The OT Tool Box
This is a great option for bubble wrap sensory play without any mess at all! - More mess free bubble wrap painting – from Hello Wonderful
This is another easy, mess free bubble wrap sensory activity! - Bubble Wrap Twister – from Chica Circle
This is a fun sensory activity that bigger kids will love! - Bubble Wrap Hopscotch – from Sugar Bee Crafts.
This is a super fun sensory twist on traditional hopscotch. - Bubble Wrap Roads – from Happy Toddler Playtime.
Grab some toy cars to drive on these fun bubble wrap roads! - Bubble Wrap Stomp Painting – from Mess for Less
This is a fun twist on bubble wrap painting with an extra sensory experience for your feet!
