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Sensory Fun With Food



Kids Will Love the Mess!

This week my girls and I needed a little down time. We have been so busy visiting friends for play dates and shopping for two big girl bedroom makeovers that we just needed to relax. My daughter suggested we have a spa night and make our own facial masks. I know every mom thinks their kid is a genius, but seriously mine just proved it.

She may even be smarter than me since I decided, "I don't need no skinkin' recipe." How hard could it be to whip up your own food based spa treatment in your kitchen, right? Turns out it's very hard. In fact, when I presented my final product to my child she said, "You do know spa workers are like professionals who know how to do this stuff. They make it look good too." How sad is it I can't even blame Pinterest for my fail?

In her defense my avocado face mask did look a bit like baby vomit. 

My other daughter who lives for all things messy decided to give the mask a try any way. She really was undeterred by the gross factor. As she slathered it on her face it reminded me of all the fun sensory things I let them do as babies. We sure had a lot of fun painting ourselves with pudding and yogurt (on purpose). Today, we are slathering avocados mixed with honey and it's still just as much fun for her. She was eager to scoop it up, rub it in between her hands and then smash it onto her face.

I started this blog when my girls were still babies with the purpose of sharing the fun side of messy. I was always so careful to make things using ingredients from our kitchen so if any of it made it to their mouths it was safe. Watching my girl enjoy layering on the avocado mask took me for a quick trip down memory lane. 

So I'm sharing a list of fun food items you can use for sensory play:

  • Mix a package of instant pudding in a bowl and hand it to your child along with a paint brush. 
  • Let them smear yogurt on the tray of their high chair. Most of the detachable ones wipe clean or you can place directly in the dish washer. 
  • Boil up some pastina (tiny pasta) and let them dig into the bowl with both hands. 
  • Smash up avocados, or bananas and let them squish between their fingers. 
  • Freeze water and food color into fun shaped ice cubes and let them paint with them. (Tip: This is perfect for bath time, toss them right into the tub!). 
  • Cook up some spaghetti and put in a big bowl or plastic box. Let them run their fingers through it. 
  • Serve up a dollop of whipped cream onto their tray and let them dig in (it's surprising less sugar than you think!). 
  • Give them a bowl of crisp rice cereal in a bowl of milk to listen to it pop. 
  • Plain old baby food works too. Have you ever fed a baby? They pretty much paint themselves in anything you put in front of them. 

Whatever messy fun you have with your kids enjoy every second of watching them learn. Their reactions are simply priceless. Kids learn best through using their senses. Before you know it your kid will be big enough to apply those fun foods as her own beauty treatment while admiring herself in the mirror. 

The Whatever Mom is a full-time wife and twin mama living on coffee and wine. She enjoys the pure rush of cleaning the BIG potty between loads of laundry. It is her dream that moms everywhere accept and embrace the Whatever Mom philosophy which can be found here. You can also find her musings and popular shares on Facebook and Twitter. Stay up to date with her creative ideas and outings on Pinterest. 



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