For a while now, I have wanted to start a series where I share a monthly sensory bin filler idea. It seems the start of a new year is the perfect time to do it! Please join me as we kick it off with January’s filler: DIY Fake Snow!
How will this series work?
Before we can play in the snow, I want to explain a bit about how this series is going to work.
Each month, I will share a different filler idea. At the end of the month, I will update the post with my final thoughts.
In addition to a generalized tutorial, there are a few questions I will make sure to answer in each month’s filler post. Examples are:
- What is the total expense of the filler?
- How did the filler hold up throughout the month?
- How difficult is cleanup and upkeep?
- Is it taste-safe?
- How can this filler be incorporated into a lesson?
I’m really excited about this series and how I can use it to encourage other mamas to use educational play in their everyday lives. If you have any other thoughts or questions you would love to see included in these monthly posts, please reach out! You can leave a comment here or contact me on any of my social accounts. I share regularly on my Instagram, @thatmamachick, and would love to see you there! In fact, if you want videos or a slightly different view of these projects, Instagram would be the perfect place for you to find that.
One more thing: Throughout this series, you will see that all of my fillers are put into a table designed to hold specific sensory bins. You don’t need to have a special table! If you don’t have a table, I recommend buying a cheap plastic storage bin, the kind with a lid. You can put your filler in there, change it out, wash it as needed, and store it away somewhere when it’s not in use. You can set the bin on a regular table or the floor to play with. Lay down a tablecloth first for easy cleanup.
If you’re looking for other wintery ideas, make sure to check out my Easy Snowman Activity for Toddlers when you’re done here!
With that, let’s jump head-first into our DIY Fake Snow
Here in New Hampshire, we have had a very cold, very windy, very snowless winter. My sister in Tennessee has had more snow than us this winter, and that’s just not right. The only solution was to create an indoor winter wonderland of our own.
With only TWO ingredients, you can too!
Materials and Expenses
- Shaving cream
- Baking soda
Yup, that’s it. I got the cheap, store-brand options too.
Equate Sensitive Skin Shave Foam (I prefer this to the regular because the scent isn’t as strong. If your kids are especially sensitive, you may want to look into a natural brand) is $1.47
Great Value Baking Soda is .97 Cents for a 1lb box. I used two full boxes.
Grand Total: $3.31
This is a fantastic bargain for a bin of fun.
Optional Additional Materials
As you’ll see in the pictures, my bin also has some plastic animal toys, cookie cutters, and some cute little trees from the dollar tree. I did not include any of these in the expenses because they were things I already had on hand and will be able to use again. If you don’t have these exact items, just raid your kid’s toys or throw in some measuring cups from the kitchen. There’s no need to buy anything else.
Let’s make it snow
To make the snow, I started with a mound of shaving foam squirted right into the sensory bin and dumped an entire box of baking soda on top of it. I stirred this around with a metal spoon, gradually adding more of each until the consistency seemed right. I soon ditched the spoon and thoroughly combined everything with my hands.
To fill the bin, I ended up using two full boxes of baking soda and about half the can of shave foam.
The consistency should not feel wet but have enough moisture to hold together when compressed. For visual help with this, go watch my video on Instagram.
It is that simple. This whole process took under 5 minutes, and that’s while trying to get photos and videos for content!
Setting the Scene
I like to set things up for my kids to make their first interaction with a new material magical! As we say, it’s an “invitation to play.” So, instead of just tossing the toys into the snow, I arranged them in a cute, approachable way!
And this one worked! They were in awe of the little snow scene and slowly explored before jumping into forming the snow into their own creations.
Make it a lesson
While they played, I read the book The BIG SNOW by Berta and Elmer Hader. We discussed how different animals handle winter. Words like HIBERNATE and MIGRATE were introduced for some vocabulary building.
The toys I added to their bin included a family of deer and a few bunnies, so we talked about how these critters planned to spend the winter. This led to J (almost 5) creating a snow “den” for the bunnies to live in.
This was not a sit-down, structured lesson, but don’t forget that this is how kids learn! Encouraging learning through play is one of the best ways to help their young minds flourish.
Cleanup and Upkeep
To start, here’s what I can say: I set this up earlier today, and the girls spent probably 2 hours total playing with it. Each individual play session ended with a quick hand rinse at the kitchen sink, but the snow did not stick to clothes and was not tracked around on their feet.
Before dinner, I used a small hand broom to brush any loose snow from the table back into the bin and put the lid on it. There IS snow on the floor under the table that I left for future me to deal with… Based on previous activities, however, I’m sure I’ll be able to vacuum it up with ease.
UPDATE: It is now January 31st, and I have just packed this all away in prep for February’s Filler Idea.
- Cleanup: As expected, the snow was SO EASY to vacuum off the rug. It crossed my mind that I regularly put baking soda on my rugs… on purpose…. to clean them. So basically, this activity just cleaned my house for me. Ha! Also, as mentioned above, the little hand broom was a huge help. Each time they were finished playing, I’d sweep it back into the bin and close it up. Super easy.
Is DIY Fake Snow Taste Safe?
Because of the Shaving Cream, this is a hard no.
This filler is best suited for children no longer mouthing everything they touch. My girls are currently 2 and almost 5. They loved this, and I didn’t have to worry about anything being ingested.
I will add that even if your child tends to put things into their mouth, baking soda is gross so this specific filler would taste horrendous. I imagine they wouldn’t go in for a second bite. That said, YOU know your children best and can decide if this is safe for them.
((This is not tested, but I would love to see if yogurt could work instead of shaving cream. Hmmmm…))
Final thoughts
Again, I will update this in a few weeks, but for now, I’m thrilled with this DIY fake snow. The kids played peacefully together all afternoon. It was wonderful.
I’M BACK!
End-of-month update:
This filler was great, honestly. They played with it a lot throughout the month, and it held up really well… With one exception: I had to add more shaving cream periodically as it did dry out. This was not a deal-breaker for me, just something to keep in mind. And I really should have seen it coming, especially with how crazy dry the air has been this winter.
Even though I was adding a squirt of shaving cream every few days, I never emptied that original can of shaving cream. So that’s not bad at all.
One more note before we wrap this up for good: the little trees did not survive. I think the moisture messed with the wooden bases because they looked gross by the end of the month. They were thrown away. The animals and cookie cutters were perfect and rinsed off without an issue.
That’s all I have for an update. I hope you try this out, and I’ll see you soon for my next monthly filler idea!
