Sand and Water Play

Another classic favourite.
Most people have a sand/water tray out in the garden that only gets used in the summer months ( which face it in the UK isn't very much!)  Well we bring it indoors too.
Many of my friends cringe at this and I do guess it depends on your child/ren on to how 'safe' you think this is. Thankfully my girls are pretty good and wouldn't just completely empty out the contents of the tray on the floor around them.
I tend to place towels on the floor around them and have the hoover ready on standby to hoover up any major sand spillages to save it getting trodden round the house.
I would probably advise replacing any large spades with smaller kitchen spoons/utensils to avoid any major dumps of sand too!

Paper Shredding

This is great fun!
All you need is an old newspaper or magazine. You dont want the paper too thick though or they dont fly as well.
Basically you rip the paper into long strips. Encourage the children to help you if they are capable. The girls love actually being allowed to rip things!
Once you have ripped a good amount of paper then you need to just grab hand fulls and throw them up into air. Watch them float to the ground and do it over again.

Be aware that newspaper print will make their hands dirty so you might want to wipe them afterwards if you dont want little black handprints on your furniture!

Chalking

In my previous post about Messy play, I mentioned about how the black 'Tuff spot tray' was very versatile. Well it makes a great indoor chalkboard too!

Great for rainy days when you cant get outside to chalk. When you can get out thought chalking is great fun. It doesn't have to be just scribbling on the patio though. Great activity to practice numbers, letters etc. My eldest enjoys colouring in the walls and colours each brick a different colour.

Messy Play

Messy play has to be one of my favourite activities. Its so flexible and the variety of different things you can use is endless. A great sensory activity for any age!  This has always been a popular activity throughout my many years working in Nurseries and also one of the messiest! In the warmer months you can take it outside which means mess can easily be hosed down!  These activities are great to encourage lots of descriptive talk about what they see and feel.
Heres a few of our favourites:

Here we used some Jelly and Spaghetti coloured with food colouring.

Baked beans.

Crushed Ice cubes- 

Shaving foam

Ice cubes (Coloured with food colouring)

As you can see, over the years we have used various different trays/pots/paddling pools to hold the messy play. The paddling pool works well, although can be tricky for younger ones to climb out of ( however sometimes that not a bad thing! :))  Larger tupperware pots are good for smaller amounts and more contained play.

We have since bought the black tray that you see in many of the pictures. These are widely used in nurseries for such activities.  They are called Tough spot trays. They can be a bit costly in some of the educational catalogues but have discovered that these are also exactly the same as the trays that builders use to mix cement with! (often called Mixing/Cement spots/trays)  Check out your local builders yard and they are easily half the price! I picked mine up for about £15 delivered. As you will see from many of my photos its very versatile tray indeed. I have many people ask where they can buy such a tray.

None of the items used have cost very much at all. The shaving foam and beans etc is just a supermarket value own brand etc.

You can add anything you wish to the activity too. The girls favourite of the toys animals have joined in alot again.  As in other activities you can extend the activity by getting the children to wash/clean the animals/cars etc afterwards, also helping you to clean up :)

A tip is that I would add here is to leave plenty of time for these activities as it generally takes longer to clear up than you think! :)

If you do try any of the activities on my blog, please do let me know how they went and if the children enjoyed them!

Gloop play!

What is Gloop?  Basically its Cornflour and water, plus a few drops of food colouring if you wish to make it coloured.
Mix the two together and it will form a kind of paste. It should feel quite solid to the touch but when you pick some up the heat from your hand will turn it back to a gooey liquid.  Dont worry about your child trying to eat it as its not going to harm them.  A fab sensory experience for all ages. The girls have been enjoying Gloop play from as young as 4mths!
You can also add flavoured essence's to the mix to add another depth to this sensory experience.
You can add anything to the gloop play to encourage Imaginative skills. We have had toy cars, pots and pans, cutlery ( good for knife cutting practice) etc but the all time favourite is the small toy animals and Dinosaurs.

You can extend this activity further for older toddlers by letting them clean/wash the animals etc afterwards. It also helps you with the tidying up afterwards :)

Painting

You are never too young to start Painting. The girls both started painting at about 6mths old.  Yes it was messy! - Nothing a dunk in the bath doesn't solve. Yes they tried to eat it! - Just make sure the paints are non toxic. There are links online of how to make your own paints too.  Most importantly they had fun!

Painting is a regular occurrence here whether it be at the easel or more messily on the floor with hand and foot prints. We have hardwood flooring in all the downstairs rooms in our house so mess is easy to clear up. If you have carpets dont let it put you off.  I suggest a large splashmat/tarpulin/shower curtain on the floor first or use a room with lino/tiles/slate etc ie The Kitchen.
I buy rolls of cheap lining paper from B&Q for our floor painting and stick strips down with masking tape.  I also strip the girls down to their nappies/underwear and vests if its abit chilly. Just dont let them wear anything you dont mind getting messy!
The mess can be something else with 2 toddlers but a few minutes of Cbeebies help give me the time to clear up! Lots of people are horrified I let my children do this but they do get so much out of the activity that its definitely worth it.

The Cardboard box

Never under estimate the humble cardboard box. Kids love them and they are fantastic for Imaginative play!  Any age baby/toddler loves a box!

We moved house when my eldest was only 9mths old and simply sitting in a box kept her amused for ages which meant I had a chance to pack.

 

A box is also great to paint/decorate. It can be a boat, bus, taxi anything you like really!

I have recently discovered a product that can extend box play even further.  Rolobox.  Resuable wheels to add to your cardboard box. A fab idea that retails on Amazon for about £8 so not going to break the bank either. It's been a huge hit with my girls and the teddys have had lots of trips in it. Its also on alot of friends shopping lists now too!

Tape car tracks.

Today we decided to try out a new activity. Very simply its tape (Electrical tape, masking tape etc) marked out on the floor as a road track.
You can make the track/road as big or small as you like adding more roundabouts, turns, dead ends etc. You could even extend it over cushions or your sofa, over the coffee table, wherever takes your fancy really!
The girls loved this (despite the odd argument about someone sitting on the track!). So very simple to do and can also last a while. When they have had enough then I will pop the rug back on the floor on top of it and its ready to uncover again another day!
You dont have to have hard wood or laminate floors to do this though. Carpet floor works just as well. I'd probably use masking tape though as its not quite so sticky. :)

Sensory blanket

This is a fantastic activity especially for younger ones.  Lots of sensory experiences here... The sounds of it crinkling, the way the light reflects, the feel of scrunching it etc.

This is a foil blanket (space blanket) same as you may see given to people in accidents/disasters etc and after running races.  You can get them quite easily online cheapily, I got a pack of 2 for only a few pounds. The other blanket is actually in my car in case of any emergency/car breakdown and we need to keep warm so its turned out to be a very practically activity too!

As the girls have grown they have adapted their own ideas to this activity and like to bring toys with flashing lights and sit/lay with the blanket over the top of them and watch the colours reflect on the blanket.
They also like to use it to make 'Space tents' and hide from Aliens!

Water Painting

One for the dryer days. This really is so very simple but keeps the kids busy for ages!
Let the children paint things in the garden. The shed, the fences, the walls... anything.  They are painting with water so it can literally be whatever takes their fancy as theres no mess! A paintbrush and a bucket of water is all you need.

Painting on the patio/paved area/path is also good and they can draw and mark make too.

Woodland Walks

Autumn is a lovely time of year to dress up warm and go for a stroll in the woods and get some fresh air. Its free too!
All those lovely colours in the leaves and opportunities for conversations about the world around them. We took a lovely family afternoons walk in the woods which led to many different learning experiences. We climbed tree's (Daddy relived his childhood!) , had leaf fights, built dens with fallen branches and balanced along fallen tree trunks. Natures very own playground. All very physical to wear them out!
My eldest also let her imagination go wild and was looking out for the Gruffalo on our walk! We collected lots of autumn items such as pinecones, leaves, twigs, acorns etc. We studied them more at home and then created some lovely Autumn pictures by sticking our collected things onto craft paper.
Being a keen photographer it also meant I could photograph some of the stunning autumn colours.
Pop on your wellies and go for a stroll!

Paint Bags

A 'clean' panting experience :)
Paint bags are a great way for children to learn about colour mixing and really are as the name suggests... Paint in bags!
Squeeze some liquid paint into a freezer bag, 2 colours, one each side for colour mixing or even just one colour paint. Seal the bag up well. Again I use tape across the top of the bag as an extra precaution.
Tape the bag to the window and get squishing! A quick and easy activity and perfect for those days when you really dont want the mess!
Encourage lots of chat about the colours and what happens when the colour mix together. Again this can be extended for older children into mark making, early writing skills and numbers.

Squishy Bags

Squishy bags are a great sensory activity for children of all ages and can easily be adapted to suit any type of theme. We went with Bugs and insects this time.
You will need some sort of freezer bag with a ziplock top or resealable top, some Hair gel and whatever other small items you wish to add to your bag.
To your bag add the hair gel. You can buy either coloured gel or clear gel and add some food colouring or even just leave it clear. A little glitter added too works well. Add your chosen items (bugs/cars/shapes) to the gel and mix them together. Ensure the bag is sealed well, I often place some sticky tape over the bag opening to help stop toddler fingers trying to get the bag open!
The bag can be used on the floor/table but I prefer to stick mine to the window/patio doors as this allows the light to shine through the bag.
A lovely simple rainy day activity. Do keep an eye on the bag though and check for holes developing. My youngest enjoys the feeling of the bags and often likes to drag her fingernails down the bag too!
Try using just the coloured/glittered gel in a bag for older toddlers in practicing writing letters and numbers too.

Edible Artwork!

Having only just started this blog there are plenty of activities I'd like to show you that i've previously done with the girls.
A recent one was something we named Rainbow Bread.  You will need some slices of normal sliced bread (White works better as you see the colours more), some milk and some food colouring. Pour some milk into little pots/bowl and add a few drops of food colouring and stir together. Now grab some paintbrushes and paint the coloured milk onto the bread.. Simples!   Once the children have finished their artwork you can pop the slices into the toaster/or under the grill and toast them.  You may need to turn your toaster up slightly if the bread is abit soggy from lots of milk.  Edible Artwork for lunch.

Halloween Bathtime

Last night we decided to have a Halloween themed bath time to finish off the day. Another incredibly easy and simple thing but super effective and a huge hit with all the kids I know that have tried this!  I always get good feedback from friends who have tried this :)
All you need is some Glowsticks. You can pick these up pretty easily (especially at this time of year!). I got a pack of 15 for £1 from the pound store. Give them a shake to activate them, then chuck them in the bath! Turn the lights out and tell the kids to go see. The faces on my girls were a picture!

Halloween

Well as today is Halloween, I thought id start with some Halloween activities.
Today we hosted a little Halloween party for the girls and their friends. Very noisy and crazy but fun non the less.


The biggest hit of the party was the Bottle Bowling.
Save up plastic bottles, could be any size really or even plastic milk cartons and give them a good wash out. Decorate each bottle with a face. Obviously we choose a Halloween theme but can be anything really that relates to the theme of your party. We intend to do Snowmen for Christmas.
Then you need a bowling ball. My first thought was to use a small pumpkin but I couldn't find any suitable that weren't abit squished meaning they wouldn't roll very well. In the end I used a large Orange and drew a pumpkin face on it.  A simple ball would be just as good! The children loved seeing how many they could knock down and counting them. Also great for large motor skills with the rolling of the ball.





Another game we played was 'Bat Box'.
Adapted from a game I remember playing at school myself with trying to throw bean bags into hoops during PE lessons.
I started with an old cardboard box then cut the flaps of the box to form wings and eyes then covered the box with black paper. Painting it would have been easier but I had run out of Black paint!  I then added two big eyes on the bat and it was ready to use... quick and simple.
The beanbags could be bought ones or like mine, home made from squares of felt and filled with split beans.  Another good game for Gross motor skills.

Finally, The Ghost handprints. 

These were a huge hit and the kids all loved doing it. Another simple one really.  You will need some Black or dark coloured paper ,some white paint and a black pen. Paint the children's hand with the white paint or let them place their hand in a tray of paint then place the painted hand onto the paper. When its dry add the ghosts eyes and mouth.... A ghost! Told you it was simple :)

You can also use upside down foot prints which work equally as well.

Welcome everyone

Please bare with me as blogging is new to me and I'm learning along the way!
The aim of this blog is to share with you the numerous craft and messy play activities I enjoying doing with my own children. I have two daughters with a 21mth age gap between them.
Before the children were born I was a supervisor at a local nursery where I loved getting the children involved in all sorts of various educational activities. Some activities I have picked up during my 10+ years of working with children, where as others have just developed from other activities.
I hope this blog will inspire you to try some new activities with your little ones. They may be messy but that's half the fun... I mean, what child doesn't enjoy getting messy! :)