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Shaving Cream Sensory Play

Shaving cream is a messy sensory play activity that actually makes things cleaner! Use a DIY sandbox to create another sensory center in your home.

sensory play with shaving cream

This week I let the kids play with shaving cream – for the first time ever! Shaving cream isn’t my favorite substance, but it seemed worth the sensory experience.

Emma surprised me by digging right in – but quickly decided she wanted to wash her hands and use utensils instead:

shaving cream and washable paint

We added some washable paint to play around with colors. We tried making prints on paper, but we weren’t very happy with the results. The cream would not lay nicely, and it just didn’t look very exciting.

At two and a half, Lily is a great age for sensory play, so it’s no surprise that she adored this activity! She played with it for an entire hour in the morning while Johnny was at school – but never touched it with her hands.

sensory play with shaving cream

Then Johnny came home, and dug right in. Lily joined him for another round. Johnny quickly dropped the knife and spoon in favor of his hands, and by the end had shaving cream clear up to his elbows!

sensory play with shaving cream

And yet, I have no picture! This may have something to do with the fact that – when I was about to take a photo – he decided to decorate my jeans. I’m so glad I thought to use washable paint instead of food coloring to add some color to their play!

sensory play with shaving cream

Johnny’s enthusiasm did encourage Lily to touch the shaving cream. She didn’t love it the way Johnny did, but she tried it and found it interesting!

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MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.

20 thoughts on “Shaving Cream Sensory Play”

  1. Fun! The boys were playing with shaving cream in the bath this morning. I should squirt some in a couple pans and let them play with it in the kitchen. Thanks for the heads-up about the food coloring-vs.-washable paint! I was thinking I’d add some food coloring.

  2. We’ve done shaving cream a few times and my little guy always gets a kick out of it. It’s interesting to see the different reactions your kiddos had.

  3. Unbelievable- my kids would have literally bathed in it within two seconds flat! Maybe that’s why I don’t often try this sort of activity… Looks like fun, though!

  4. In the interest of my sanity, I haven’t been commenting as much, but I’ve still be enjoying your posts! We love shaving cream around here, esp. combined with toy cars for one of our many car wash variations!

  5. I always want to pick up shaving cream to play with, but I forget every single time. We don’t have any here. Bummer about the art print not working. I was going to try that.

  6. It’s funny how different kids are when it comes to new textures. Anna loves shaving cream play. Great last shot of Lily – so cute!

  7. Didi {Duck Duck Octopus}

    I love, love, love shaving cream play! You are very brave to do it inside. How in the world did you keep it contained to that dish?! They look like they had such a fun time, and the photos are wonderful. :-)

  8. I’d like to try that for myself! :). Looks like real fun. I also personally find it relaxing to indulge in sensory play, and shaving cream does look promising. My kid is getting bored with her paints and stuff, so this is something worth-trying.

  9. We love shaving foam play. T more so that J (including trying to eat it so it can only be used when she naps!). I think J and Lily are the same age as he’s 2 and a half (well 31 months now) and it’s such a great age for messy play although like her he would rather use tools now than his hands.

  10. You might also want to try this bubble paint shaving cream idea. We played for hours- you can use it as finger paint or with a brush.

    Shaving Cream
    Glue
    Red Food Coloring

    Mix together ¼ cup of glue with ¼ cup of shaving cream. Add in red food coloring. Use a brush to paint it on paper. As the paint dries, it has a bubbly or puffy effect.

  11. We do this in the tub with a little food dye in it to make different colors. It is fun for the kids, but man they dig right in so it gets EVERYWHERE. Hence only doing it in the bathtub!! The good thing is the cheap-o shaving cream works so well and it lasts forever at like a dollar a can :)

  12. Elisa | blissfulE

    What a wonderful post documenting their fun as well as their different personalities. :) So glad you used the washable paint… I wouldn’t have managed a picture at that point, either!

  13. I always love shaving cream play, but my kids have never been big fans. Plus it’s the added bonus of being really good for cleaning stuff.

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