Sensory Crafting and Creative Fun

    If you've followed us for any length of time, you know that we love to craft. I think I was born with it because I come from a long line of crafters. So when the weather changes and gets rainy and gross, we head inside and to be creative Thanks to Craft City, I usually have fun kits on hands for yucky days.

Sensory Crafting and Creative Fun

    Liam loves to make slime. It not only gives him something to do, but it promotes STEM learning. You know what else it does? It fulfills his need for sensory input. So making slime is a huge winner in our book. We happen to love the DIY Slime Kit from Craft City. It has everything you need to make opaque and crystal slime.

    This kit even comes with tablets to color the slime. There's glitter to make it sparkle too. Oh, and for added sensory fun, there's glow powder, and water gel too. The glow powder makes slime shine so bright! (You can even use it in dyed slime too!) The water gel makes the slime more gooey which is wonderful for kids that seek out more sensory input.

Squishy Art

    Squishies are all the rage. We've always had them on hand because they're a great way for Liam to keep his hands busy while doing his lessons. Well Craft City just upped the ante on squishies. Their DIY Squishy Art kit comes with everything you need to make you own custom squishies. There are three of them inside for your kids to decorate. The kit comes with puffy paint and chalk to color them. When you're done, you can add some faux sprinkles on top too.

    It's a great way to let your kids' creative juices flow. While also making themselves a sensory tool for school, homework time and more. We had a blast decorating our squishies. I did the cupcake, while Liam did the doughnut and surprise squishy too. Then he gifted it to his cousin, since he too loves toys to fidget with.

    The holidays are right around the corner. So why not gift your kids some of Craft City's kits. That way you know they'll have something to keep them occupied on snow and ice days. Also, it's a great way to spend quality time with them, and keep their devices out of their hands (even if it is only for an hour.)

Turn Bathing into a Sensory Experience

    I've always had to find ways to lull my child into bathing. He's twelve, and still it's an issue. ("There's too much to do to waste time on bathing!") I've found that turning baths into a sensory experience is a great way to get kids in the tub.

Turn Bathing into a Sensory Experience

    The first step to creating a fun bath is knowing what kind of sensory fulfillment your child needs or wants. Let me start by saying that your child doesn't have to be a special needs child to benefit from a sensory bath. Kids in general love them. I've had neurotypical kids here enjoying sensory fun in wading pools, just as much as my special needs son does.

    That being said, let's see what experience you want to give your child. Do they crave smells? If so, then a bath to fulfill their olfactory needs would be perfect. Maybe they like bright lights, and different things to look at. If so, some pool lights, and light up toys will be perfect. If you're looking to fill tactile needs for a kid that loves to feel everything, then maybe a jelly bath, shaving cream "paint" or some cooked noodles. 

We do this one outside because it can get messy. Cook noodles in colored water. That's it! It feels like seaweed!

Bath Bombs are the Bomb

    Liam (and I) especially love bath bombs. These fulfill a few senses at once, and are amazing! We get ours from Sudzy Bums. Her bombs are the bomb. They smell fantastic! They also fizz a bunch so that fulfills Liam's tactile need. He also loves how they color the water too. (He likes to use one of Sudzy Bums bath bombs, and adds in waterproof lights too.)

Fun for the Entire Family

    Sudzy Bums has a full selection of bath bombs, liquid soaps, bar soaps, soaks, scrubs, moisturizers, and so much more. All hand crafted for you and your loved ones. Make sure to get yourself something too, because you deserve to be pampered after getting your kiddo in the tub.

    Does your child love bubble baths? Liam and I both do. For him, I add sensory lights, and add bubbles to his bath. It turns it into an instant sensory fun bath. Sudzy Bums has Bubble Scoops, and Bubble Bath that is perfect for these types of baths. 

Add a Sudzy Bums Bubble Scoops, grab a light wand or some waterproof tub lights, and let your son or daughter have a blast.

Where to Buy

    We love Sudzy Bums, and we know you and your family will as well. So check them out on Etsy! 

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Mr. Bubble Still Makes Bath Time Fun

     I grew up with Mr. Bubble. We always had a bottle of "his" bubble bath on the side of our tub, and it made bath time so much fun. It's all I ever used for Bran when he was little, and now for Liam.

 Mr. Bubble Still Makes Bath Time Fun!

    Good ol' Mr. Bubble has been around for fifty years. He was a part of our nightly ritual as kids, and then when I became a mom, he was and is part of my boys. Liam is (almost) twelve, but he still uses Mr. Bubble. After all, Mr. Bubble is America's favorite bath time buddy! 

    His current go to is Mr. Bubble Foam Soap. This stuff is so cool! Kids can mold it and create fun shapes in the tub. When they're done, they use it to wash themselves! This Foam Soap turns bath time into the perfect sensory experience, which also means the "mess" is contained in the tub. Since it's also soap, the aftermath can be rinsed away. So let your kids go wild and enjoy the fun!

    Liam "shaves" with it too. He has a few of those plastic toy razors. He takes his Mr. Bubble Foam Soap, and emulates how his daddy lathers up his face and shaves. Hey, it's great (and safe) practice for when he actually needs to shave. (Tear! They grow up TOO FAST!)

Sensory Scents 

    Okay, so Mr. Bubble is for everyone, but as an autism mom, I always find the sensory fun in products. Since his Foam Soap comes in different scents, it adds even more enjoyment to the sensory experience. You can choose from scents such as cherry, banana, cotton candy, watermelon, orange cream, grape, birthday cake, peach sorbet, and more. Each scent is also a different color which is even more fun!

Shower Painting

    Set up a Picasso Bath for your little ones! Grab all of the scents and colors of Mr. Bubble Foam Soap. Then get some paintbrushes, and one of your muffin tins. (If you don't want them using your good muffin pan, then upcycle an egg carton!) Fill each slot with a different scent/color, and let your kids have fun.

    They can "paint" the walls of the shower and tub with the Foam Soap, and when they're done, just rinse it away. It's a wonderful way to get them into the tub. Just be warned, it might be a chore to get them back out!

Mr. Bubble is the Bomb

Your parents trusted Mr. Bubble, and now we trust him for our kids. You can still get a full line of bubble baths, as well as Magic Bath Crackles and more. To see them all, visit Mr. Bubble. Easter is coming. Stock up and fill their baskets with fun! 

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Sensitive Skin? Want Something More Natural?

    If your child has sensitive skin, or if you're looking for something more natural, then check out Nourishing Naturals. (The Village Company is home to Mr. Bubble and the Nourishing Naturals line.) Nourishing Naturals line of bath time products features beloved Sesame Street characters, AND is made from all natural products, including fruits and veggies! You can get some at Target.  

Sensory Fun Your Kids are Going to Love

    We have been having a blast this week with some really cool products we just received from Sensory Jungle! We love them and know your kids will too!

Sensory Fun Your Kids are Going to Love

    Liam has always been a huge sensory seeker. There are things he does avoid but that's mainly certain food textures, or sticky things. (For example, he wears rubber gloves to eat apples.) One of his favorite go to toys has always been water beads. He loves watching them change in size and shape as the grow.

Growing our water beads

    We use them in a pan and he puts his hands and feet in them. I used them to teach him fractions in math too! Just a few measuring cups, and kids can start learning their fractions by seeing how many of the smaller cups it takes to fill the one cup. (See, math can be fun!) He also likes to take them outside and bounce them off the porch to see how high they go. (Note: that's pretty darn high!) Another thing he loves to do is make them and put them in my big bathtub. It's super deep, so he can get in there in his swim trunks and "swim" in the water beads. However, when you purchase your beads from most places, you don't get enough.

    For Christmas, Liam received a water beads play set. You crush the beads, and then mold them into play foods. It's a fun way to work on those fine motor skills. The best part is that our water beads from Sensory Jungle go so much further than other brands. That means, hours, days, weeks, and more of fun sensory play. 

    I put some in a jar and placed them onto a light up base. This made a really pretty sensory light for Liam's room. (It's out of his reach for no chance of breakage.) However, Voss water bottles will work too, and be a safer alternative. 

DIY Sensory Night Light with Sensory Jungle Water Beads

Get Bigger and Better Fun with Sensory Jungle

     That's not the case with Sensory Jungle! For under ten bucks you get over twenty THOUSAND water beads. Get this! You take one tablespoon of beads per gallon of water! So just ONE tablespoon makes a GALLON of pretty big water beads! That's fantastic!! (These are much bigger than the "name brand" ones.)

Just ONE TABLESPOON of these Sensory Jungle water beads, makes one GALLON of sensory fun!

Bring the Snow Fun INSIDE!

    Snow is so pretty isn't it? We love playing in the snow, but neither of us appreciate the coldness of it. Which is where Still Valley Fake Snow comes in. This stuff is so cool! It's a STEM lesson and sensory play all in one. Water transforms this polymer powder into fluffy snow. It's perfect for a sensory station, and can even be used for crafts. (A 100 grams of Still Valley Fake Snow will make about two gallons of snow.)

    We put ours on a tray and Liam used it to play with his action figures. He loved making a snowy landscape to play in. When he was finished, he scooped it all back up and placed it in bags for another day. (The scooping is a great way for kids to work on those pesky fine motor skills.) 

So Much More From Sensory Jungle

    These are just two of the fun products that Sensory Jungle has to offer. As you can see, we love them and we think you will too! Valentine's Day is coming. Skip the candy for your kids, and get them some sensory and STEM learning fun! 

You can visit Sensory Jungle HERE. Or you can find them on Amazon too!
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