DIY Gel Boards … and Kids Co-Op LINKY

When I saw this awesome idea on Pinterest from Chasing Cheerios (could that blog name be any cuter?!?)  … I JUST had to give it a try.  DIY gel boards for fun, mess-free, sensory play … perfect for practicing pre-writing skills too!

All it takes is a foam board (I got a package of 5 small ones that were the perfect size … just a bit bigger than a gallon size baggie), hair gel, gallon size ziploc bags, duct tape, and glitter (optional!).

I used the name-brand ziploc bag … but in hindsight, using the generic would have been better because they usually don’t have any printing on them.  The kids enjoyed the squirting hair gel into the baggies …

After the bags had the gel and glitter in them, I put them on the foam board by taping them with duct tape.

I also taped the entire back of each board to help secure the baggie on and help the board last longer.

It took a couple of tries to perfect the project, but the 1st attempts are still pretty cool.  I found that I was filling the bags with too much gel … especially if we wanted to use them for letter practice/writing.  Also, we found that after a couple days the color of the glitter and gel mixed together (making the green gel an orangey brown and the blue gel a light red).

I personally like the light blue gel one without the glitter and the least amount of gel … but the kids really play with all of them.   The actually seem to like the fullest one because of the sensory, squishy aspect of it!

Mario likes this one …

So, what ways have YOU played this week?  I’m excited to announce that I am a part of a BRAND NEW linky group, the Weekly Kids Co-Op, centered on the importance of children’s PLAY!  Every Friday I will feature a playful activity and post the linky.  We’d love you to join in too!  Join the Kids Co-op …

You can join the Weekly Kids Co-op in two ways:

1. add a link to your play-based post here and have it shared on all the other blogs who are hosting.
2.  become a Kids Co-op host yourself. We would like to grow and grow the link-up as a collaboration of child-focused bloggers. Just as Pinterest Boards the Kid Blogger Network Activity & Crafts and The Parent Watercooler have been HUGELY successful as the result of having lots of contributors, we would like to invite you to join this link-up as a host and share the fun. If you’d like to run the Kids Co-op link up along with us and feature it on your blog each week, you can find the group on Facebook and ask to join in the FUN.

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