I know that parents are scrambling for activities to do with their children. I am all about simple and easy, especially when it comes to arts and crafts. These sensory or squishy bags, as my students like to call them, are uncomplicated and effortless. You probably have most of the materials floating around someplace in your house.
You need:
1 gallon ziplock freezer bags
Hair gel
Little gems, sequins or pom poms, glitter
Food coloring
Colorful duct tape
This is a great activity to do outside, so you don’t have to worry about the mess.
It’s important to use freezer bags because they are a little thicker than the regular storage bags.
Squeeze the hair gel into the bag. Then add food coloring, gems, sequins, glitter and pom poms. Place duct tape all around the edges of the bag to make sure the seams don’t leak.
You are done. Have fun with it. You can also make your own. Doing arts and crafts is relaxing and there is a real calming feeling when you squish the bag!
To help develop language skills:
Make sure to comment throughout your activity.
You can use action words like:
squeeze,pour,mush/smush,smooth,turn,mix
You can work on describing words:
names of colors, smooth, sticky, wet, dry, shiny, sparkly
I love getting kids use their critical thinking skills. You can put out all the craft materials and ask:
Can you guess what we are making today? What do you think?
I also like to use the opportunity to help them develop problem solving skills. You can ask:
What do you think is the best way to do this? What should we do first?
Oh no! We spilled! What should we do? How can we avoid this the next time we try?
It is also a great time to reinforce that mistakes are opportunities to learn:
Oh boy, we made a mistake, that’s too bad. I bet you if we try again, we will do a better job!
Mistakes happen! Let’s clean up and start again!
You know what the best thing to do is, though? Don’t worry about teaching your child anything! Just let it go, enjoy, and have fun with your child. Not everything has to be turned into a lesson. It is the summer after all!
Need some more great parenting tips?