Halloween Countdown: Jello-ween Sensory Play

2 days 'til Halloween!

Here's another squishy-ishy messy sensory play idea:

Icky, sticky day-glo orange jello... with a spidery infestation! Calvin is loving these little toy spiders. He was excited to see them again in the jello. Of course, with this activity you could put any little toys in the jello - or even pieces of fruit. That's called a jello salad - right? Isn't that a thing? I've definitely seen scarier versions of Halloween jello... stuff like candy eyeballs in red jello... Gives me the creeps just thinking about it! I think plastic spiders are plenty spooky for us!!

Look at that dimple! He was excited ;)

He's telling me there are spiders (using his voice and his sign for spider).

The spiders floated to the top, which I was kind of disappointed about. I was hoping they'd be submerged in the jello. Didn't matter to Calvin. I made a separate smaller dish of spidery jello for Henry to play with in his high chair.

He looks so goofy here! But look! He's pulling a spider out! That's a big deal for his fine motor skills!

Captain Obvious: If you're doing this activity with littles who can't be trusted not to eat the toys, be sure the toys aren't a choking hazard. These spiders were big enough that I wasn't worried. Plus, if Henry actually managed to pick one up and put it in his mouth... 1. It would be a miracle. And 2. There's no way he'd be able to get it to the back of his mouth to swallow it. His eating skills aren't that mature. But that's just Henry :)

Calvin can be trusted not to eat spiders - real or fake! But I did let him know it was safe to eat the jello...

You want some??

Just kidding. He wasn't actually offering me jello. He had just discovered that he could pick up chunks of it. I gave them spoons to try and scoop it. Henry was more interested in chewing on his spoon.

I think Calvin is making a face here because I was asking him to use his left hand - the one that's been in a sling for a month. He's still getting used to using it again.

Calvin didn't actually eat much of it. He didn't seem to like it! I don't blame him... I am not a fan of eating jello either. But I do think it makes for a nice sensory play material. It's an unusual texture, it comes in bright colors, and - even if you don't like it - it's edible.

The thing that strikes me as I look at these pictures is that Calvin did not make a mess of it at all! Same with the shaving cream yesterday. I think that says something about his comfort level with squishy textures. With dry things like rice, beans, or sand he gets it everywhere. Like Ev. Ry. Where. He's got this new (annoying) thing about throwing sand at the playground. Totally dangerous, but part of me hates to stop him because I think he really likes how it feels to scatter it around (don't worry, I still stop him). But he is weird about squishy stuff! He's like me and he doesn't like it! And I suppose in a way it's nice to have a kid that's not going to smear spaghetti sauce all over the table... But we'll keep doing squishy sensory play from time to time. It'll be good for both of us!

How do your kids feel about squishy stuff??



Here are more posts from this series of Halloween-themed play ideas:

Monster Bowling

Funny Felt Monsters

Perfect Pour Pumpkins

Spooky Sensory Bottles

Spiders in Shaving Cream