Snow Gel Sensory Play is cold, sparkly, wibbly-wobbly and an absolute delight you won’t want your kids to miss! Squish it, squelch it, squeeze it, splat it! This is Winter sensory play at its best!
My children love real snow. Snow stimulates all their senses and is such a lovely experience. We try to catch it on our tongues and eat it too! And we simply adore the muffled effect it has on sound, especially in the city.
This year they enjoyed getting really physical and built a gorgeous igloo you can see here. Every year they look forward to the snow so much but then in a blink of an eye it’s gone and it’s always sad to say goodbye to it so soon.
I really wanted my children to be able to carry on the winter play experience a bit longer so we made a lovely indoor igloo you can find here and a cute small world snow scene. They were all great fun but I thought it was time to get messy!
I wanted to make something that looked like snow and that had wonderful cold and soft properties too. You can buy fake snow powder that you mix with water but I prefer homemade if possible, who doesn’t? There was of course the cornflour and water option and shaving foam but my boys have done those so many times now, I really wanted something different!
I really value Sensory Play and have some firm favourites that you might like to see while you’re here too.
Super Cold, Wobbly, Sparkly Snow Gel Sensory Play!
How To Make Snow Gel
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Snow Gel Sensory Play Supplies
- Gelatine
- 2 pints warm water
- Squirt of white poster paint or powder paint
- Glitter
Method For Making Sensory Play Snow Gel
- Simply sprinkle the gelatine into the warm water and stir until dissolved. (Use the ratios detailed on the packet. Often 1 sachet makes 1 pint.)
- Add the paint and stir until evenly mixed.
- Refrigerate until set and add the glitter.
It’s great fun to pop the finished Snow Gel onto a large tray or table top so the children can really enjoy the tactile experience as they squash the slimy Snow Gel through their fingers and create patterns and shapes by prodding and poking. It is such a rich sensory play experience.
Messy play experiences are so valuable for children of all ages. Different materials offer a wealth of tactile pleasure that even the very young can become completely immersed in as they explore its temperature, texture and form.
Children can be encouraged to think about exciting adjectives to describe the experience and older children may even be able to invent some of their own, Roald Dahl style.
It’s squelchalicious and stickylumpcious…Biscuit aged 9
Snow Gel Sensory Play and Small World
The children very much went into small world play mode after an initial exploration of the substance. They thoroughly enjoyed creating little scenes with their Playmobil and toy animals.
Snow Gel Sensory Play and Science
The children also liked the science behind Snow Gel and we discussed materials and their changing states as their gel went from a powder to a liquid and then to a semi solid. They understood that temperature played a part through the addition of warm water and then the cooling and setting process. They asked the question “What would happen if we put it in the freezer?” There’s some in the freezer now and we’ll have to get back to you on that one!
Snow Gel Sensory Play and Self Expression
Younger children may be more taken by the pure sensory and artistic experience of the snow gel. A great addition to this kind of play material are simple objects that help them explore the material’s properties more and to be self expressive. Sieves to squash it through, pouring containers to fill and empty, rakes and sticks for swirling patterns, water to add to change its texture, moulds to shape it in like sand castles, sponges, funnels, pipettes, the list is endless!
Edible Sensory Play Snow Gel Alternative
If your children are still at the mouthing and tasting stage and you want a safe edible variety then you can simply omit the paint and glitter and instead of mixing the gelatine with just water use a mix of water and milk instead. The texture will be the same and the milk will give it a lovely white colour.
I hope your kids have lots of fun exploring their own SNOW GEL SENSORY PLAY EXPERIENCE.
More Fun Winter Crafts To Enjoy:
