It’s not always easy to plan activities that both my 18-month-old daughter and 5-year-old son will equally enjoy. This sensory extravaganza certainly hit the mark! We had a blast making these sensory cupcakes!
Sensory Cupcakes Materials:
There are so many different ways you can do this activity so fear not if you don’t have these materials, just switch them out with whatever you do have!- Shaving foam
- Water beads
- Glitter
- Pipe cleaners
- Sequins and confetti
- Spoons and scoopers
- Muffin tin trays
- Bumkins Splat Mat and Smocks!
To make this a super inviting set-up, I wanted to offer my kids as many different sensory experiences as possible. Hence, they used shaving foam to make the cupcakes. They loved the soft but firm consistency of it! Baby sis spent ages just poking it and feeling the texture. Big bro enjoyed using the spoons to carefully sculpt the perfect cupcake shape.
Once they had made a few foam cupcakes, it was time to get decorating. They couldn’t wait to get their hands on all of the ‘sprinkles’, ‘candy’ toppings, and ‘candles’. The level of creativity they showed as they decorated each cupcake differently was incredible. Activities like this can prompt great role play conversations!
One of my favorite things about sensory play is that there is no right or wrong way to do it. It is simply all about the sensory experience! Allowing your kids the freedom to explore a range of materials, and to use them how they please, is a powerful way for you to support their creative development without imposing on them.
Another great skill this activity works on is fine motor movement. Their little hands and fingers were working non-stop to make and decorate their cupcakes. It might seem trivial, but activities like this will actually help your child to strengthen their pincer grip muscles ready for writing!
Some of you may be reading this thinking ‘it sounds great but I can’t handle the mess’. I feel you on that! It’s chaos when there’s mess everywhere and your kids announce they are done and wonder off for their next adventure.
Fear not! As the kids wore Bumkins Art Smocks and we used the Splat Mat, clear up was so easy. It took literally a matter of five minutes to wash out the trays, shake off the glitter, and get the smocks and mat in the washing machine. Bumkins for the win!
So next time you want to let your kids explore their senses and get creative, why not let them make their own sensory cupcakes?! You can even add a drop of food coloring to the foam to color the cakes!
Find more Sensory Play inspiration by following Lucy of @findthelittlemind on Instagram!
Head on over to our crafts + fun area to find even more sensory play recipes and craft ideas from other inspiring moms.
