Messy Play

Activities

Silly Soup

This was incredibly popular!

First cook some noodles and then add different food colouring to them. Watching the noodles change colour is fascinating!
Place some food colouring in tubs of water and watched that change colour too.
Then pour and mix to create Silly Soup! This can last quite a while as your child experiments with the water, transferring it from one container to another.
Drink the water and become silly! If you have an older child they could write a label for what happens when you eat the soup e.g. jump.

Painting with water

This is such an easy activity.

Get a paintbrush and roller
Place water in a bucket and let your child paint the wall, gate, ground, anything as it is only water!

It helps to develop their coordination and helps their gross motor skills. If you have an older child they could paint letters and numbers on the ground.

Truck Tuff Tray

This is similar to the small world play with the diggers but adding water.

Get a tuff tray or container and place the diggers, people, brown sugar, cornflakes, shreddies and water inside.
Let your child explore with the diggers, moving them around and filling them up with the cereal, brown sugar and water.
Discuss what happens to the cereal once it gets wet. Oh yes, it turns into a soggy mess!

Messy Painting

This is messy but a lot of fun for your child!

You will need: A variety of different coloured paint, an apron, paintbrush and a large piece of card (we used an Amazon box)
Give the paints to your child and see what they do. It probably won’t take them long to mix the colours!
Discuss the colour mixing and encourage them to place their hand on the paint to feel it.
Have wipes and a bucket of water ready to clean their hands, and probably face too!

Mud Kitchen

Get ready for the mud! Pouring and mixing…. what’s not to love? My daughter loved this and decided to create her own cafe selling cups of coffee, tea and hot chocolate.

You will need: soil, leaves, stones, bucket, spoons or pots to mix in and a pot or bucket of water.
Turn the bucket upside down so that it looks like a hob.
Give your child access to the spoons and pots.
Watch as your child mixes and pours and creates all sorts of food, potions or drink!

Muffin Tray Messy Play

Muffin trays are brilliant to use for play, especially fine motor skills and messy play.

You will need: a muffin tray, items to put inside, pots, spoons, plates and water.
Place all sorts of things inside the muffin tray: pasta, risotto rice, satsuma peel, leaves, stones, spaghetti, porridge oats and then I mixed flour with food colouring and water. Anything that you have at home. Candles are beneficial as my daughter used them to count the candles for everyone’s birthday.
Get the pots and spoons ready for more mixing! So much fun!

Rainbow Ice

Another fantastic sensory experience for your child.

You will need: Rainbow ice, food bags and frozen peas.
Do this the night before. With your child, place some water and food colouring in the ice cube tray and freeze it overnight.
Place the frozen peas in a food bag and put some water inside for your child to explore how the peas become unfrozen.
Watch as your child plays – taking the ice out of the ice cube tray and touching it. You child might choose to place the ice in the plastic bags and touch the peas. I’m sure they will come up with their own play! Fun all round!

Coloured Spaghetti

Touching spaghetti is a great sensory experience and made all the better when it is different colours.

You will need: cooked spaghetti, food colouring, spoons, cups, trays and a bucket of water.
Place food colouring in the cooked spaghetti and ask your child to mix it all together.
Place it in a tray and let your child explore. What does it feel like? Is the spaghetti hard or soft?
We then took everything outside, added water and created a messy play activity. My daughter transferred the spaghetti to the muffin tray, added water and made lots of interesting concoctions!