Sensory Hunt for Gold!

 

St. Patrick’s Day is really a great holiday for crafts and activities.  There’s so much you can do with rainbows, leprechauns, gold and everything green.  We had a little visitor in our house today!  A naughty little leprechaun hid our gold and jewels!  Luckily, my boys know how to hunt for treasure!  Here’s what you’ll need if you think a naughty leprechaun might be stopping at your house this week:

Shaving cream (such a great item to keep in the house!)

Green food coloring (or washable paint)

Coins, jewels or any treasure you can find

Spoons

Bowl of clean water

Large container

 

This is super simple to set up, but can also get super messy.  I strongly recommend putting a plastic covering under your place space and a towel on the table.  It will make clean up so much easier in the end!  Also, keep a roll of paper towels close by.

Squirt shaving cream to fill a large container.  Add 3-4 drops of green food coloring and stir.  Next, drop in your treasures and mix them in.  They will very quickly be lost in the green foam.  The boys were actually there when I set up so they knew what was hiding in the foam.  If I did it again, I wouldn’t show them what treasures I was adding.  I think this would make finding them more exciting.  I gave them each a spoon in case they decided they didn’t want to stick their hands in and a bowl of water to rinse the coins and jewels once they found them.  I was completely surprised at how quickly they dove right in with their hands!  Letting little hands play and dig in shaving cream is a great way to increase fine motor skills and provide a fun sensory experience.

 

We talked about what the foam FELT like, SMELLED like and LOOKED like.  Before we added the food coloring, both boys were yelling, “SNOW!!!”  When I took out the green food coloring, they were yelling, "OOBLECK!"  Glad to see they are REMEMBERING and CONNECTING those past experiences!  I’ve noticed my son, Anthony, noting similarities and differences a lot lately, whether it be with stories, toys, places we’ve gone or things that we’ve done.  Every time they would find another treasure, I would ask, “What did you find in the GREEN foam?”  ASKING QUESTIONS is one way to get the conversation going.  After a while, Anthony started asking Michael what he found.  The coins that we had were GOLD and GREEN, so I made a point to follow up with, “What COLOR coin?”

We also song a little tune while we were hard at work:

OH HUNTING WE WILL GO,

OH HUNTING WE WILL GO,

WE’LL FIND THE GOLD,

OH THIS WE KNOW,

OH HUNTING WE WILL GO

Then, we grabbed our spoons and sung it again but substituted the word DIGGING for HUNTING.  Singing songs is a great way to encourage interaction during what can become a quiet activity.  Remember, you’re trying to SHARE THE EXPERIENCE. 

 

This activity is definitely messy, but well worth it!

 

Love & Language,

Marisa