I'm not sure if I'm with the majority here or the minority but I just don't rate pom poms for crafts as much as I rate them for Sensory Play! Their texture is light and fluffy and when submerged in water they feel even better! They absorb the water and are great for little hands to squeeze and watch the liquid pour out from the Pom Pom. It gets their little hands really working and is a great way to explore cause and effect.
I am sharing on our stories on Instagram lots of simply play ideas so make sure you're following us over there too.
I am sharing on our stories on Instagram lots of simply play ideas so make sure you're following us over there too.
We aren't at school at the moment but I do find that having activities like this set up after school can really help too. It's often the 'meltdown time' for us when they get back. A time where the children are so overstimulated from their busy day, the minute they come home it can be loud, which adds to the chaos. These activities help bring some focus and keep things calm.
As soon as we get back from the school run we all get changed and then I need to start thinking about the tea. This hour was a real struggle for me as there was lots of squabbling and noise and my stress levels would rise. I'm finding a significant improvement setting these little activities up ready for this time of the day. It helps bring them together in a calm way. It almost resets their mood.
All you will need for this activity is a large under the bed storage box. I also popped my Tuff Tray under the box just to help catch any spillages. If you don't have a Tuff Tray you could pop some towels under the water box to help with any inevitable splashes and spillages.
Over on Instagram when I shared this activity s couple of weeks ago, I had a couple of messages from people who were reluctant to throw their pom poms into the water in case they didn't return back to their normal state. When you have finished with this activity, squeeze out any water that you can from the pom poms and leave them to dry out fully on a tray.
It's really important that you dry them out fully so they don't start to smell stagnant. I pop mine out on a tray and by the morning the balls are fully dry and are ready to go back into the craft storage container. I can also confirm that being in water doesn't ruin them. Once dried out they spring back to their normally fluffy self making it a great little media to add to your sensory play.
I poured in lovely warm water and emptied the pom poms into the under bed storage box. I added some bowls and kitchen utensils and within 5 minutes we had an activity that I just knew the children wouldn't be able to resist.
There was lots of lovely scooping, mixing, filling and emptying. They played great alongside each other, making sure they shared the contents of the play set up with one another.
I wasn't surprised when the activity turned into cooking and cake baking. That seems to be the done thing with my 3 over the last few months.
Lets see this activity in action:
They used the number pebbles I added to the tray a few times throughout the activity too which was good. There was recognition, ordering and also counting out the quantities linked to the pebbles.
A very successful activity today that we shall do again very soon. Lots of fun and really easy to put together.
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