These five activities are easy to do together, and also aid in fine motor skills practice while providing tactile and sensory fun.
Now that we’re at home more, we’ve put together some resources and entertaining activities to help your child learn while having fun and expressing creativity. These five activities are easy to do together, and also aid in fine motor skills practice while providing tactile and sensory fun. Each activity can be done with items that you may already have in your home. Have fun and happy creating!
1. Soft Slime
This homemade slime from The Best Ideas for Kids has a soft, fluffy consistency because it has a secret ingredient – shaving cream. You can use the recipe below to make slime that your kiddo will love squishing and stretching. For an added sensory-friendly experience, you can put plastic toys inside of the slime so that your child can experience different textures and practice their fine motor skills.
Soft Slime Ingredients
- 2/3 C white glue
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ C water
- 2 – 3 C shaving cream (Note: shaving gel will not work)
- 1.5 tbsp contact lens solution
- 10 to 20 drops of liquid food coloring
Soft Slime Directions
Pour the glue into a bowl and add the baking soda. Stir the mixture while pouring in the water and add the desired amount of shaving cream, depending on how fluffy you want it to be. Start adding in the contact lens solution ½ a tablespoon at a time; this is your magic slime activator, so check the ingredients to make sure that it has boric acid and sodium borate. Add in the liquid food coloring and stir until it stops sticking to the bowl. Knead it for a few minutes and enjoy!
2. Finger Painting
This activity can help introduce kiddos that have an aversion to paint textures to a thicker alternative that they might find familiar. You can mix the paint with them so that they can feel comfortable with the paint before touching it. You can use this Mama OT recipe for nontoxic DIY paint to make a fingerprint tree or even freestyle on a blank sheet of paper.
Finger Paint Ingredients
- 1 part water
- 1 part white flour
- 10 to 20 drops of liquid food coloring
Finger Paint Directions
Start by mixing equal parts water and white flour and adding in some food coloring. You can add more water to thin it out or more flour if your child prefers a paste.
3. Color Sorting
All you need for this Mess for Less activity is cotton swabs and Playdoh. Start by cutting the cotton swabs in half and lining up the lids. Show your child how to grab a small amount of clay with the cotton swab by twisting it into the Playdoh and pulling away. Have your child practice color sorting by matching each swab with the same color lid. This is a great way to refine fine motor skills while practicing color sorting with a familiar item.
4. Masking Tape Racetrack
Le Jardin de Juliette’s tape track will transform your child’s favorite space into a speedway or even a town with parking spots and barriers. You can build this exciting playtime activity together by shaping out roads with masking or electrical tape. Have them set up the obstacles that they want to drive through while you tape them into place and start your engines.
5. Mess-Free Color Play
This activity only requires two ingredients – shaving cream and food coloring. All you have to do is fill a Ziploc bag halfway with shaving cream, add a few drops of food coloring, and close it while removing the air. This Playing House in Maryland activity is great for children who do not like to get their hands messy but still want to play with colors. Kiddos can move the shaving cream around and even “draw” in it with their fingers. You can tape the bag to a window to give your child a different view of the world outside.
. . .
Being outside the classroom doesn’t mean we stop learning and we hope these ideas have provided some fun along with a little learning. Doing activities together during this time can build great memories and keep you all entertained.
Like these resources and need more? Behaviorbabe has some great tips on her site here.