Sparkle-Mint Play Snow!

Strep hit our house last weekend, so we had a few good pajama days. Because it's still so cold outside, we were looking for fun, crafty activities we could do at home.

I've seen quite a few recipes for play foam, fake snow and other simple and inexpensive kids' sensory crafts and have come up with my own version to help ease the pain of day after day of indoor play. Mine is sort of a cross between play foam, sand and fake snow and can be molded, sprinkled, piled, sifted and mashed.

It's everything a sensory activity should be: soft, crumbly, smooshy, smelly, messy and FUN.

You'll need:

about a can and a half of shaving cream

2 boxes of corn starch

an extract of your choice: we used mint, but orange, raspberry or coconut would be fun too

glitter

a mixing bowl

two plastic bins or bowls

The recipe is easy-peasy!

Just pour in your cornstarch (concentrating VERY hard)...

 Don't lose your stuffing if some of the cornstarch spills, ha!

 Add the shaving cream. 

A little caveat here: we used the generic Walmart Equate brand because it was $.97. 

Fail.

 I am super allergic to whatever fragrance was in it, so next time I'll spring for a pricier unscented version. This will also give you more bang for your buck with whatever extract you choose.

 Such good fine motor practice for my little turkeys!

 After some mixing with a spoon,

 add a good amount of glitter.

 Then add a little more...

 Then, if you really want to get crazy, add a second color!

After mixing the glitter into the foam snow mixture, divide it up for your kiddos.

 And PARTY!

 The mixture makes your hands feel crazy smooth!

 You can shape it into a ball...

 Sift it through your fingers...

 Or use plastic cups to make snow/sandcastles!

 I recommend using disposable cups for this. 

Much easier cleanup this way!

 Here are some more sweet pics of the girls playing...

 After a little while we added some silverware to the party.

 Endless entertainment!

 Cleanup was a little daunting at first since this stuff has a tendency to migrate all over the table and floor. I was pretty excited when I was able to quickly sweet it off the floor and wipe it off the table with a wet paper towel. That's as close to craft cleanup perfection as you can get!

Hope you enjoy this fun little winter project! Try adding different glitter, fragrances or even some food coloring to the mix for a fun little twist!