St. Patrick's Day Gelatin Fine Motor Play

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Happy Fine Motor Fridays! This weeks focus has been on St. Patrick's day, so we had to include a St. Patty's themed fine motor activity in there. K had so much fun with this St. Patrick's Day activity.  We have been doing lots of two in one fine motor/sensory activities recently, and K is loving the whole "digging for treasure" concept. He loves finding something buried inside a sensory medium. He utilizes his fine motor skills by while digging out the slippery items buried inside!

To make this green gelatin play, I used:

Lime Gelatin
Foam Shamrock Scatter (I picked this up at the Dollar Tree!)
Green Jewel Table Scatter (Another Dollar Tree find!)
Plastic Gold Coins

I placed all of the items in the bottom of a glass baking dish, and I made the gelatin according to the package instructions. Once it was set (and yes I actually waited for it to set properly this time!), I set it in front of Kingston on a green towel. I also gave him a green fork.  

He was super excited, and immediately started using his pincer grasp to pluck each of the glittery shamrocks out of the slimy gelatin. He piled them all up next to him, and then set to work on the jewels. They were a bit more tricky and made a fun squelching sound when he finally got them released. He thought it was quite funny! As he played in the gelatin, the entire kitchen smelled like lime. It was delightful! 

Just like our first gold dig, he was fascinated by the gold coins. These were the absolute most difficult to free from the green slime, so he had to work really hard to have the satisfaction of holding one.  

When he had freed most of the items, he started really playing in the gelatin. He used his fork to mush it all up and practiced scooping the jiggly mess out. Then he practiced his squeezing skills by picking up handfuls of the wiggly mess and squishing it through his fingers. 

He thought it was hilarious when the gelatin got on his feet. He couldn't stop laughing at his slimy green toes! It was the cutest! 

This activity was A LOT less messy than our last sensory activity. I simply wiped him down with the towel he was sitting on and through the towel in the wash. This is a great messy activity for those who are afraid of messes!  

Don't forget to check out the other awesome Fine Motor Fridays posts!

Winter Cotton Ball Crafts from P is for Preschooler

Color Sorting Activity with Velcro from School Time Snippets

Rainbow Scissor Skills & Color Matching  from Little Bins for Little Hands

Tiny Pom Pom Fine Motor Skills from Powerful Mothering

Color Sorting Box from Still Playing School

Fine Motor Ideas Using BIG Bubble Wrap from Lalymom

Shamrock Garland from Stir the Wonder