This is part six in a series on busy bags. For more information on what busy bags are, and for some ideas on bought contents for easy busy bags and more handmade ideas, read past posts in the series.
This is a huge favourite busy bag for me Ameli. There are just days where nothing works and we just need some water to restore our balance and the peace in our home. I love running a bath – normally themed – and letting one or both girls just play. If you don’t want to confuse bath time with play-in-the-bath time, let them wear swimming costumes for play. 
You will need:
- A muffin tray or ice trays
- Foaming shaving cream
- Food colouring – we use cheap and cheerful variety, since we’re not eating the shaving cream!
- Paint brushes
Drop a different colour of your food colouring into the ice trays. I have four colours, so I use one drop for lights, two or three drops for darker, or mix colours like red and blue for purple.
Spray your foaming shaving cream into the compartments, and mix it up.
Add a paintbrush or two.
Let loose in the bath.
If I’m using the opportunity to do something else, like hang up the laundry, I leave the bath empty and just let the girl(s) paint. If I’m sitting in the bathroom with them, I’ll put some water in.
So, what do children learn from this busy bag activity?
Well, there’s colour mixing, there’s creative and imaginative play, there’s fascination at the gel-turned-foam, but most of all, this is an awesome mood saver activity for us, perfect for resetting the stress levels in our home and refocusing us. It’s easy to set up, easy to clean up and can seriously last for ages.
This is also a really good activity for rainy days – take it outside, and let everyone get a little wet!
Next week we look at books for busy bags, in celebration of International Literacy Day
My family really likes this activity. I do not know why, but all kids really like shaving creams and are very exited to play with it!