The shaving foam has been out again in our household - this time to make some marbled hearts! Not only is this activity great for the senses, children are free to explore as they wish and each time the process will give them a beautiful piece of artwork. There is no right or wrong way.
Heart crafts are not only fun for Valentines Day, but all year through. Whether you choose to make them for Mothers Day, Grandparents Day or just because - they make lovely decorations and the kids will have so much fun with the process.
You will need:
Shaving Cream
Food Colouring
Stirrer (stick/ twig/ cocktail stirrers work a treat and you could probably get some to match the theme or your child's interest too).
Card
Tray/Dish (or an under the bed storage box lid like we used)
Pipettes
First cover your container in shaving cream. Some children may enjoy squiring the cream so give them the opportunity to give this a go first (will get their muscles working in their hands). Once your tray is completely covered add your food colouring to the foam. Dotting it around - here, there and everywhere like in the image below. I did have pipettes available but my preschooler also just poured it into the cream too.
You could add a sprinkle of glitter if you wish. When you begin mixing the shaving cream and food colouring together however the glitter does disappear. Initially though it does look pretty and lets face it - everything is that bit nicer with an added sparkle! It may just get a reluctant child over to take a closer look!
Use your finger/stick/stirrer to begin moving around the foam. Pretty quickly you will see beautiful swirls and patterns forming!
Once enough swirls have formed, press the card down into the shaving cream. Lift it off and use a firm card/ruler to remove the shaving foam sitting on the top.You will be left with beautiful marbled artwork!
My Preschooler always begins by using a stick, once she gets into it, it's not long before her hands are fully submerged in the shaving cream! Before your children get to that stage be sure to get your prints of the swirls.
So not only does this make beautiful process art it is also great for the senses and Imaginative play. I watched her make ice creams, soaps and potions!
She also noticed that the food colouring that she had been transferring into the foam using pipettes had started to change colour. We used one pipette to do all the colours, so as she went to a new colour the previous colour transferred slightly. This got her talking about which colours she can mix together to make new colours!
If you haven't given this activity a shot yet, you rally must! Shaving Foam Marbling is great fun for even the youngest of children. I would advise children who are at least 2 years old need to be kept under close supervision. You know your children, if you think they need to be a bit older hold off.... if you think sooner - give it a go. Just make sure they are past the - 'everything needs to go into my mouth' stage. Shaving Foam isn't safe to eat which is why close supervision would always be needed with this activity.
You may need to consider buying sensitive shaving foam for the children. If you know a child has particularly sensitive skin or if you have a child who would be reluctant to get their hands messy - simply add a stick/twig for them to use instead.
This is not the first time we have had fun with shaving foam:
Shaving Foam Snowflake Soup
Autumn Coloured Sensory Shaving Foam
Rainbow Shaving Foam Painting
Tuff Tray Shaving Foam Sensory Play
If you give this activity a go - drop us a message with your photos!
We would love to add them to the bottom of the post.
