Frozen Inspired Sensory Play with Shaving Cream and Ice

My boys are always up for shaving cream play, and I've forever been meaning to try combining shaving cream and ice like Play Create Explore. August is typically our hottest month of the year, so while most people are in back to school mode, we are still enjoying summer fun. This Frozen sensory tub from NurtureStore inspired me to make our shaving cream and ice play with a Frozen theme, after all, all four of my boys love the movie.

Frozen inspired sensory play with shaving cream and ice.

How to Make Frozen Shaving Cream with Ice

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Supplies:

shaving cream
liquid watercolor paint or food coloring
glitter
water
ice cube trays in varying sizes
sensory bin

Frozen inspired sensory play with shaving cream and sparkly ice.

Directions: Our Frozen inspired shaving cream and ice sensory bin was so easy to make. All it took was a little patience. I filled ice cube trays with purple and blue water, and I added blue and silver glitter to the blue water and purple and silver glitter to the purple water for some extra shine.

Building shaving cream ice castles with Frozen inspired sensory play.

I left the Frozen inspired ice to freeze overnight. When they were frozen solid I popped them out of the ice cube trays and into a sensory bin full of shaving cream. I used an entire can of shaving cream for this activity.

Frozen shaving cream ice castles for sensory and imaginative play

This sensory bin became a four part experience, which exceeded my expectations. I generally hope for a good hour of play when I set up a sensory activity for my boys. At first they played with the shaving cream, covering themselves and each other. As the ice melted, the colors swirled into the shaving cream, giving it a beautiful marbled effect.

JZ (7) and Peanut (3) built ice castles with the frozen cubes. Building with ice cubes is a favorite summer activity like with our rainbow ice and erupting sidewalk chalk. The shaving cream acted a bit like glue and held the ice cubes together. If your little one likes the idea of building Elsa's ice castle, be sure and check out how Kids Activities Blog made ice sand castles.

Building ice castles with FROZEN inspired shaving cream and ice play.

Tank and Peanut (3) rubbed the colored shaving cream all over themselves and all over the ground and then "ice skated" on the cement. When they were ready to get cleaned up I filled up another bin with water. They brought a few of the frozen ice cubes into the water bin and watched as the ice melted, turning the water a lovely shade of lavender. They grabbed several cars and airplanes and proceeded to get the toys messy in the shaving cream and rinse them off in the colored water.

J-Bug (5) is often the last to join in the sensory play. He approached the Frozen sensory bin after most of the ice had melted, and the shaving cream had turned to beautiful colored slush. He and JZ had a mini shaving cream war and "painted" the back patio while I made dinner. One of the best things about shaving cream is that it washes away after play. When dinner was ready my husband quickly hosed off the back patio while I got the boys washed up for dinner. One can of shaving cream and some ice cubes entertained my boys for an entire afternoon, all while keeping them cool in this summer heat.