Create a giant shaving cream “Magna Doodle” for fun and learning with 2 simple items: a table-top and a can of shaving cream.
My kids love playing with shaving cream. It’s such a great sensory substance. My daycare toddlers and preschoolers love it when we squirt it right onto a table top so they can create art and practice their drawing and writing skills. It’s kind of like a giant magna doodle – they do their drawing, doodling and writing, and then they swipe their hand through the shaving cream to clean the slate and start again.
If you’ve been following along with us, you’ve likely heard me mention the 6 dollar, second-hand coffee table. It serves as an indoor craft table during the winter months, and an outdoor activity table during the warmer months. I love it because it’s large enough for the children to gather around comfortably, and its laminate top makes it stain-proof and water-proof.
Side-note: – this is also a great way to clean a kid’s art table at home or in the classroom.
Want a smaller version of this activity?
Check out our Shaving Cream Writing Tray for Preschoolers
Creating your shaving cream magna doodle:
This morning, I took a can of shaving cream to the table, and presented the hooligans with this:
At the sound of the spray-can, they came running, and gathered around, curious about what I was up to. “Is it for us?” they asked. “Yep”, I said. “What do we do with it?” one of them asked. I replied very simply: “Whatever you’d like”.
There was a moment of hesitation, and then a few cautious fingers poked at the cream.
And it wasn’t long before they were burying their hands in the foam, and spreading it around the table, making swirls and pattern. Then they would wipe it all out and start fresh. That’s when I realized that what we had in front of us was just like a giant Magna Doodle!
Who doesn’t love a Magna Doodle? We use ours all the time for fun learning activities, but when you make it life-size and add a sensory twist, it’s better than ever!
The kids made shaving cream handprints and created oodles of doodles in the soft, fluffy foam.
We drew pictures and wrote our names, and swirling our hands and fingers around in the shaving cream.It was such a wonderful sensory experience. The soft, fluffy shaving cream, little hands gliding around on the slippery table-top and it smelled amazing!
When the table became covered with patterns and drawings, they would slide their hands down the length of the table, swiping the surface “clean” to start again.
Cleaning hands:
We had a large bowl and a towel sitting beside the table, so the kids could rinse their hands whenever they wanted to.
For those who don’ t enjoy messy play:
One little guy wasn’t big on getting his hands as messy as this activity required, so after a while, I handed out some paint-brushes and they had a go with those.
Shaving cream is an absolutely delightful substance to in your sensory activities, but as always, you know your child best. If there are skin sensitivities or a risk of your child eating it, please hold off until your child is a bit older.
More Ways to Play with Shaving Cream:
- Playing with Shaving Cream
- Shaving Cream Car Wash
- Marbleizing with Shaving Cream and Food Colouring
- Window Painting with Shaving Cream
You may also like:
- 5 Learning Activities for the Magna Doodle
- Homemade Erasable Drawing Sheets for Toddlers and Preschoolers
- DIY Erasable Writing Activity for Preschoolers
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Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.
JDaniel4's Mim
That a wonderful way to have messy and oozing fun! I bet they loved the oozing between their fingers.
Nicolette Roux @ PowerfulMothering
I LOVE this! Popping over from Facebook and love the suggestions fans are leaving as well to enhance this activity. I am so going to have to do this now.. lol
faigekobre
We did this in our camp last year. We made sure the kids were wearing bathing suits first and it was a good thing as they ended up looking like snowmen after they were done. Then we just hosed them down.
rebecca at thisfineday
That sounds fun! I’m wondering if I have a surface that would work for this! I obviously need a $6 coffee table 🙂 Looking forward to making this activity work 🙂 Thanks for the post.
Kyla @ Mommy's Weird
You seriously have the best ideas. I LOVE YOUR BLOG!
happyhooligans
Thanks so much, Kyla! So glad you’re loving our activities!
Dani @ lifeovereasy
I think I might have some fun doing this activity myself 🙂
happyhooligans
I have an even cooler activity that I’m sharing on my blog tonight, Dani. Similar but much more colourful!
Sugar Aunts
oh, this is definitely an activity that our kids would LOVE! We are featuring your post tomorrow at Share It Saturday! Thanks for linking up 🙂
Colleen at Sugar Aunts
happyhooligans
Thank you, ladies!! I’m honoured that you’re featuring us! I’m putting a similar but much cooler activity up on my blog tonight!
Wren
Because my little one puts everything in his mouth, we do this with Cool whip. I don’t have to worry about guarding his every move, and the other kids like it just as well.
happyhooligans
You are brilliant, Wren. When someone asks for an alternative, I always suggest canned whipped cream, but it tends to go “flat really quickly. I’ll bet Cool Whip would hold up much better. I’ll remember that. Thank yoU!
Mary Catherine
Isn’t it great how something so simple can bring about so much fun and learning?! 🙂 Thanks for sharing at Stress-Free Sunday — I’m featuring you this weekend!
happyhooligans
Wow! Thanks, Mary Catherine! So glad you enjoyed it!
Amy @ The Connection We Share
Bookmarking this! You have the best ideas!
Steph @www.MisplacedBrit.com
This one is just TOO funny!
I’m also totally in shock that while randomly selecting the 10 pins I most want to try out in January… this is the second one that’s come from your site! 🙂
…I’m going to spend a lot more time exploring here! …thank you… my kids are going to LOVE this!
Steph @www.MisplacedBrit.com
…I forgot to say that I’ve linked your image & credited your site in my post – I hope that’s ok!
happyhooligans
Absolutely! Thank you for the shout-out, Steph!
happyhooligans
Oh, we have LOTS of ideas to keep you busy, Steph! So glad you’re liking what you see! 🙂
Steph @www.MisplacedBrit.com
We did it!! The kids thought it was awesome… THANKS for a great post …you can check out our antics here: http://misplacedbrit.com/activities/shaving-foam-magma-doodle/
(and of course I linked right back to you) 🙂