Iced Shaving Cream

Shaving cream is wonderful!  What child can resist plunging ten wriggling fingers into that fantastic, foamy stuff?

For this spin on the old favorite, make some ice cubes colored with food coloring or watercolor powder.  If you wish, place toothpicks in them before freezing for easier handling.  Let the children manipulate the ice in the shaving cream.  As they do so, the cubes will melt and color the foam, while also changing its texture a bit.  The children love to squish the foam, melt the ice with the warmth of their hands, and mix the colorful foam into secondary colors.

Have rags nearby and encourage the children to wear smocks.  The good news is that shaving cream is washable (though take note of how much and what kind of coloring you use in the ice for their staining factors).  In fact the kids will likely come out cleaner than when they dove in.  The bad news is, that all that clean foam will quickly be all the way up their arms, and will likely creep onto a few bellies and chins as well!

This is a great science and sensory activity, giving the children the opportunity to feel several textures and to change those textures as well.  Billowy foam becomes denser and more creamy.  Rough, cold ice becomes more smooth as they rub it, then changes to water and mixes with the foam.  The children will experiment with the concepts of cause and effect and changing states of matter, as well as with mixing colors.  Language skills will be enhanced as they verbalize their experience, talking about the sensations and transformations.

For more activities for a Winter theme, click here!