Messy play is a lovely sensory experience for children and really encourages them to explore, discover and be creative. Squishy bags are great way to enjoy mess-free messy play! Although glitter and shiny stars make eye catching squishy bags, the use of natural items such as flowers and leaves can spark children’s creativity even more and children will enjoy choosing things to go into their squishy bag.
What do I need?
• Sealable transparent food bags or transparent food bags and tape
• Some kind of liquid such as hair gel, shower gel, baby oil, washing up liquid, cooking oil, shaving foam ….or just water.
• Paint or food colouring (not essential)
• A variety of different items such as flowers, leaves, grass, buttons, foam shapes, coins, glitter – in fact, anything that’s small enough, interesting and won’t burst the bag.
What do we do?
• Find a bag with your child, explaining that it needs to be leak proof. (Wonder together what that means?)
• Encourage your child to find some items to go into the bag.
• Help your child to put a little gel, oil, foam or water into the bag then add the items they have collected.
• Remember to squeeze out all the air before sealing the bag. The bag can be sealed more securely with tape when you’re sure the quantities are right.
• Now for the best part! Your child will enjoy using their hands and finger to squish, squash and move the items around the bag. Perhaps they would like to try using their feet or other parts of their body?
• Comment on what your child is doing and what is happening in the bag. Ask them how it feels.
• Once they have made one squishy bag, they will probably want to make another….and another! Encourage them to be creative and to choose different contents each time. You could try making a bag with a theme, such as one where all the items are the same colour.
We hope that you have fun together creating your squishy bags which, as well as encouraging creativity and developing fine motor skills, should be great stress relievers.
