1-2-3 Come Make Some Shaving Cream Stuff With Me!

If you haven't heard of using shaving cream in the classroom yet, you and your students are missing out on a lot of fun.  Yes, it's a little bit messy, but oh the joy of hands-on learning. 

Clear the work tables, or student desks and have children don a paint shirt.  Shake up a can of shaving cream (they sell a variety at The Dollar store) and squirt a few big dollops in front of each child. 

Tell them to smooth it out to make their very own "whiteboard!"  Using their index finger as a "pencil" have students write letters, numbers, or draw shapes.  This is a super-fun way to whole group assess. 

As you call out each letter, number,  shape or whatever, students draw that on their board.  When you've checked everyone's work by simply a glance, have them "erase" their board by smoothing it over, so you can call out something else for them to write/draw.  After you review, give your students one last dollop for them to write their name or draw whatever they like.

An extra bonus is that the shaving cream takes off sticky glue residue, as well as crayon and ink marks.  Depending on the fragrance you chose, your room should smell simply wonderful.  The cream also makes your kiddo's hands feel smooth and soft.  Take a teachable moment to talk about friction, as students rub the table top or their desk. The shaving cream will disappear, and their hands will feel warm. 

Shaving cream is also an excellent "frosting" or "snow" for winter craftivities.  The results pack a huge "Wow!" affect and were some of my students' favorite artwork.  They make an outstanding decoration for your hallway, but hang them above any one's reach, so little fingers aren't tempted to poke the fluffy "snow." To make the "snow frosting," mix equal parts of Elmer's glue to non-menthol shaving cream; mix quickly to whip up a frothy-goopy consistancy. 

Students take spoonfuls, plop them on their project and then smooth with a Popsicle stick.  Shaving cream craftivities need at least 24-48 hours to dry, depending on how thick the artwork is.  Here are 2 of my all-time favorite shaving cream creations.

 Shaving Cream Frosted Cookies Ornament: I have my students cut their cookie out of light brown paper, frost it, and then add their photo to the middle.  

If you have an Ellison Die Cutter at your disposal these cookies are adorable cut into your student's initials. Add a few real candy sprinkles and these honestly look so real, and good enough to eat!    Frosted Cookie Ornament pattern

By far, my favorite craft that I ever made with my Y5's was the shaving cream snowman.  I hung my students snowmen as a border, just under the ceiling in the hallway.  We always got zillions of compliments and everyone wanted to know the secret of the awesome looking snow!

Before hand my students drew their snowman on a pre-cut piece of tag board.  Little ones have a tendency to either draw way too small or way too large, so demonstrate drawing 2 simple circles “just the right size.”  For really little ones, I suggest having these pre-drawn and have included a template for you.  Make sure students have written their name in the corner of their creation.

I collected a large tub of  pieces and parts to decorate the snowmen via a note home making a request,  searching my house, taking apart jewelry and going junking.

Put several scoops of “stuff” in paper bowls and set 2 on each table. Give students 5-10 minutes to pick out 2 eyes, 1 nose, something for a mouth and 3-5 items for their snowman's buttons.

It’s very important to have children design their snowman BEFORE you give them a dollop of shaving cream, because they need to work rather quickly spreading their “snow” with a popsicle stick.  It’s helpful if they arrange their parts on the side, so that they don’t forget what they chose for each feature.  They get so excited when they get the “goop” that they sometimes forgot and this really helped in the past.

I also did the shaving cream board, discussed above a day or two before.  This really helped to avoid children's curiosity of how shaving cream felt and they got down to the business of creating a snowman, instead of getting off task and simply playing with the shaving cream. 

Mix up a huge bowl of “fluff” and use a wooden spoon to give each student enough dollops so they can “frost” their snowman.  I also demonstrate how this is done.  When they are satisfied with the results they gently plop their pieces in the appropriate places. 

Remember to remove the bowls of decorations before you give them the frosting to avoid children taking more and putting it all over their snowman, instead of making it look like a snowman.  After they have completed decorating, set aside in a designated "keep out!" drying area. 

You will need at least 24-48 hours of dry time.  When you return to school they should have dried and really “puffed” up!  They look simply amazing!   Click on the link to view/download the Shaving Cream Snowman “craftivity.”  I hope you have a delightful time with these ideas.  If you take pictures, I'd LOVE to hear from you and see your "mess-terpieces!" diane@teachwithme.com

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.  To check out all of the creative-educational things I spend way too much time pinning, click on the big heart to the right of the blog.  I have lots of winter boards.  I blog and design daily, so I hope you can pop in tomorrow for even more FREEBIES.

"If you don't mind smelling like peanut butter for several days, peanut butter makes good shaving cream!" -Barry Goldwater