I LOVE shaving cream. Not so much for actually shaving but definitely for sensory work. I remember “cleaning” our desks in second grade with shaving cream and it’s something I’ve done with all my students. It is so great for so many reasons.
Some people worry about sensitivity to getting the cream in one’s eyes or mouth so prefer to use whipped cream while others think you should never let children play with food. I see both sides and have done both.
Recently I let the geirls play with different ones and discuss the differences. We did: Shaving Cream, Shaving Gel, Cool Whip and Whipped Cream. Honeybun liked the shave gel best because it was soft and Sugarplum liked the Cool Whip best because it was cold.
After feeling each one they began exploring. At first they tried to make Olaf but he melted like it was summer (which it is and brutally hot!) Honeybun then realized she could make letters and started writing. This one of my favorite things about shaving cream experiences with kids: they can draw, write, explore then wipe it away and start again.
It is also great for cleaning tables! After exploring a bit, I cleaned up the Cool Whip and Whipped Cream then gave them more shaving cream to spread around and clean the table with.
Clean up is not always the easiest or funnest but a few tips are:
- Use a squeegee if you have one, it makes wiping away the cream a breeze! (unless it’s too watery)
- Use a DRY cloth first to get up as much as you can.
- Then get the extra bits with a wet cloth.
- If using whipped cream or Cool Whip, use a cleaner to get the sugary residue off (or shaving cream!)
(Because we were using our outside table, I just sprayed it down with the hose after squeegeeing and wiping with a dry cloth…not recommended for indoors!)
