Hi, friends! As quarantine life wears on, I’ve been looking for creative ways to pass the time with my four-year-old. Our most recent success was a DIY Spa Day that we created using stuff around our house. Besides being lots of fun, mixing and mashing our spa treatments were great fine motor and sensory activities. Here’s what we did:
Hair Treatment: We kicked off our Spa Day with a hair treatment. I usually have some moisturizing hair masks on hand at home, but regular conditioner will work, or you can find DIY recipes here . Spray hair with water, apply the mask, and throw on a shower cap (or don’t!). Leave on as long as the directions advise – ours said 15 minutes.
DIY Face Mask: I found this list of easy DIY face masks online and compared it to the ingredients we have on hand at home. We opted to make the Organic Banana Face Mask. We mashed a (gasp) non-organic banana with two tablespoons of honey and two tablespoons of orange juice, then smeared it on our faces, leaving it to sit for about 15 minutes. This is a great activity for littles – combining math skills (measuring) with fine motor (mashing and stirring). If you don’t mind some mess, they can mash and mix with their hands for a more sensory experience.
Snacks/Eye Treatment: Spa days require copious amounts of cucumbers. We made infused water by adding diced cucumbers to a pitcher of water, nibbled on some slices, and, of course, put slices over my daughter’s eyes as she relaxed with her mask on.
Cleansing: After the allotted time, hose your kid off in the shower, taking care to remove the masks from their hair and face. If I was joining in on the spa day, I’d probably make myself a sugar scrub using equal parts brown sugar, coffee grounds, and oil (I use coconut, olive would also work) to exfoliate. When your kiddo gets out of the shower, lotion them up!
That was it for our home spa day. Try it out and let us know how yours is!