This Halloween we're embracing sensory play and are excited to get our hands messy. This holiday is a perfect time to try exploring slippery and slimy textures.
There are so many different options out there and we thought we'd share a few of our family's favourites, all of which use items you've probably got in your kitchen. Just add a handful of spider figures, eyeballs or mini pumpkins and you're good to go.
Jelly
Simple, bog standard jelly that you buy from the supermarket and set in the fridge is amazing for sensory play. You could try adding some insect figures into the bowl before it has set and then inviting your child to try and rescue them.
Slime
I'm sure it's not just my children who are slime obsessed?! They absolutely love it and since we've started making our own I am much more willing to have it in the house. You can find our favourite recipe here. Pretend that you're witches mixing up a magical potion as you make a batch with your kids.
Spaghetti
Spaghetti is an incredible sensory base and taste safe for little ones too. Add some food colouring to the pan when you're cooking it, let it cool and stir in a little oil to stop it clumping and you are good to go. You could even make a batch while you're getting dinner ready!
Pumpkin insides
Personally I can't stand the feel and smell of pumpkin insides but my children LOVE getting their hands stuck in there. I scoop them all out into a tray for my kids to play with while I carve the pumpkin.
Oobleck
Oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid which is just a fancy way of saying that it can behave as both a solid and a liquid. Squeeze it in your hand and it will go hard like a solid but then slowly separate your fingers and it will flow between them like a liquid. Oobleck is easy to make and will fascinate children and adults equally! Simply add 2 parts of cornflour (you can find this in the supermarket) with 1 part water and mix together. You can also add a drop of food colouring to the water if you wish.
Fizzy potions
Little witches and wizards will love brewing up magical potions and a quick but effective way to do this is a simple bicarbonate and vinegar experiment. Collect herbs, leaves, petals and other ingredients in the garden or whilst out and about and then mix them in a bowl with your bicarbonate of soda. Slowly pour over your vinegar and watch your potion fizz and bubble away!
Top tips! If your little ones are nervous about exploring new textures, try giving them spoons, scoops and tongs to use to begin with while they get used to it. And if you have a baby or young toddler who still mouths everything but wants to get involves, pop some of any of the below into a ziplock bag and tape it down to the table or highchair. They'll love giving it a little poke and watching it move around the bag!