This post was created in partnership with Snow in Seconds™. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Amazingly, we haven’t really had any snow yet this season! I’m sure it’s coming soon, but so far all the boys have had to enjoy has been the lightest dusting one morning. Thankfully, we were lucky enough to have Snow in Seconds™ sent for us to play with!
Snow in Seconds™ is instant snow powder that doesn’t melt. It provided so much sensory fun for the boys and it was so easy to make. We simply added water to the powder and it quickly turned into fake snow! It only took two cups of the snow powder to fill a large bin once the water was added. Asher (4 years old) actually made the snow for us himself by scooping the instant snow powder into the bin and then pouring in water. I loved that he could even have independence with preparing it!
Asher and Aiden were so excited to explore the fake snow and were elbows-deep in it right away. The texture of Snow in Seconds™ is truly amazing. It is made from non-toxic materials and the texture changes depending on how much water is added. The boys wanted fluffy, powder-like snow when we explored with it, but we’re planning to use it again to make cloud slime!
Today, I’m sharing three different ways that Asher and Aiden had some sensory explorations with Snow in Seconds™ and how you can easily set these activities up at home:
Create a Snowman
This one was so cute and didn’t require much setup. It could also be done with different materials but I’ll share what we used.
Materials:
-Snowman shaped cookie cutter
-Black beans for eyes, buttons, mouth, etc. for the snowman
-Orange pipe cleaner pieces for the nose
-Felt or other fabric material to cut out scarves, hats, and other accessories
-Large empty plastic container to make and play with the fake snow in (we used an under-bed storage bin)
Snow in Seconds™ was perfect for this! When the boys added more water, the snow packed together more and held the shape of the snowman. They liked adding parts to their snowmen and were also working on their fine motor skills through sensory play.
Seek and Find Snow Search
This activity with Snow in Seconds™ was Asher’s favorite! I love that this one can be easily adapted for multiple ability levels and interests too. First, I found small items we had around the house and set them up on a blank white sheet of paper. I took a picture of this and then printed and laminated it to make a “key” for their search. Once we had the snow set up, the boys closed their eyes and I hid all of the mini “treasures” in the snow. They had so much fun sifting and digging through the snow to find the objects and then placing them on the key. Bonus: this was a perfect activity for them to work together on! Here’s what we used:
-Mini objects like a penny, jingle bell, washer, animal figures, and small dollhouse objects
-White paper and laminating sheet optional to make a key
-Measuring cups and spoons for digging and searching
So easy to setup and such a fun experience! As Asher found objects, we also talked about the initial letter sounds for each of them. This activity could be slightly adapted by setting out letter symbols for kids to sort the hidden objects by or hiding objects of different colors and having those sorted into matching color bowls as they’re found!
Snow Painting
The boys engaged with this activity for almost an hour on their own. Snow in Seconds™ was the perfect material for it and it created a fun combination of sensory exploration and process art. Aiden loved stirring the paint into the snow and Asher kept saying, “I can’t believe we get to paint on snow!”
Materials:
-Washable paints (we used Crayola)
-Various tools for “painting” and mixing the paint into the snow- paintbrushes, foam brushes, and pipettes
-Small cups to put paint in (especially helpful for toddlers)
So Many Fun Possibilities!
We loved our experience with Snow in Seconds™. Asher and Aiden played with these sensory activities for hours and wanted to get the fake snow out again as soon as they woke up from naps! There are so many fun possibilities for how this instant snow could be used. Some things we plan to do in the future are:
-Adding some of their diggers and trucks to the bin
-Simply adding different scoops and bowls for transferring practice
-Adding animal figures to the bin to learn about different habitats and regions
As a busy mom of three boys, including a newborn, I appreciated that clean-up was so simple and quick too. The boys mostly kept the snow in the bin that we used, but if you’ve done sensory play with toddlers before than you know that some ends up out of the bin during play. I wiped the snow off of the kitchen table quickly with a sponge while Asher used our handheld vacuum to clean up the rest on the floor. Quick and easy with no mess left behind!
The water evaporated out of the bin of snow and we were able to pour the powder right back into a bag to use again another day. A little of the instant snow powder goes a long way and it would make an excellent Christmas gift for kids of multiple ages! We’re looking forward to more exploration and play with Snow in Seconds™. Check out their options for different sized bags of instant snow powder here.
Which of these sensory activities would you like to try at home?
Elizabeth says
All of these ideas sound awesome luv because I don’t have to freeze outside for my kids to play in snow!
KMenko says
Yes, that was definitely a huge benefit too!
Abby says
What a cool activity. My little girl would love this.
Cathy says
The children will have so much fun to play this snow doesn’t melt! My kids are grown up, and I’ll forward this article to my friends with children!
KMenko says
Aw thank you so much, that is so kind of you! My boys loved it.
Mamie says
Fun activities for kiddos.
Danielle says
Cute!
Raisa says
Oh this is so much fun!! Thanks for these great ideas! x