Winter is over in Bahrain so we are back with our famous messy play dates at Sticky Fingers! Its all back by popular demand and its so great to see so many children looking forward to get dirty!:) I've always been enjoying these sessions the most so I was very happy to organize it again.
What we have planned for today was:
1. COLORED NOODLES
Pretty simple activity station. All you need is a pack of spaghetti, boil it for just a few minutes and drain. Then add a splash of vinegar and food coloring of your choice. Done and checked!
2. SHAVING CREAM + COFFEE GRINDS
I am saving my used coffee from the pressure coffee machine and keep them in a tight container. They we take an empty bowl and spray it with a lot of shaving cream. Let kids play with it for a bit and then start shifting black coffee on top of it - WOW!!!! They all start screaming!:)
3. SENSORY BIN WITH SOME MARBLES AND COLOURED STONES
That one is a bit tricky as little kids need to be watched at all times so they won't put any of the marbles in their mouths. Its a great activity for kids with some sort of sensory challenges. There is a great book for all those looking to explore this subject more by Lindsel Biel Raising a sensory Smart Child. You will find many useful insights into how to help your child overcome those challenges and more important how to understand the problem to begin with.
All kids need to do here is to dip their hand into differently shaped objects and feel them in their hands. Twist them around, stir and feel the shapes, textures and even temperatures as marbles and stones were reacting differently to sun exposure. Great fun!
4. LITTLE INFLATABLE PUDDLES
That part was put last minute by me and was a biggest hit. Kids would jump in it with their shoes, put their hands inside, cook stuff, eventually they put all the noodles inside, coffee grinds and made muddy puddles from Peppa the Pig! Giggles and smiles all over our garden!
5. LOTS OF PAINTING ON THE FLOOR - FLATTEN BOXES AND BIG SHEETS OF PAPER
Messy play date means you must get dirty so painting all over your body is a way to go! Kids were a bit shy at first but then opened up and started their art work. It was gorgeous! I had bought big brushes - not the kiddy ones - so they can grab easily and paint a huge surface at once. I had about 5 different colours of paint so they won't get bored easily and can also mix colours to see what happens. When the paint was finished I came with a water spray and add some water to their canvas - they loved it as they could brush more and more over it and smash all the colours together! Kids are always ready for more!
6. Sand box
Unfortunately my sand box is getting smaller every time as kids tend to shift the sand everywhere around but not IN the box:) Anyway I am using a proper kids playing sand instead of our dessert Bahraini sand. That was it is way cleaner for kids and it has a better texture. It is really not that expensive and more fun with it.
7. HOMEMADE FINGER PAINT
Well here I dropped a ball a bit. I took a recipe from Pinterest and it wasn't what I expected. Maybe I overcooked it but it was more like a gel than paint. All we could do with it is take it out of the boxes and rub it with our fingers on a bubbly surface. Fun anyway! I got a bubble wrap to put on the grass as I wanted kids to touch it with different materials like paint, jelly, shampoo, baby oil, etc. It was a good experience and practice for their sensory skills. Quiet interesting to see kids reaction when I started to pour shampoo on it - they were all thinking "ITS NOT ALLOWED TO SPILL STUFF!! WHAT IS SHE DOING?!?". Only after a few minutes they would copy me and enjoy it tremendously!:)
8. WATER BUCKET
Simple and easy but super messy! That water as used for literally everything - washing hands, pouring water out and watering flowers, spilling water over friends head, making rain, etc. Or you could just pour some water into your sandals and see where it goes:) Kids imagination is truly endless. I had to refill the bucket few times with some fresh water (from the pool:) but it was the most popular messy station. Next time I might have to add 1 or 2 more buckets if we continue to be that busy!:)
Kids and mums were warned they need to bring hat, sunscreen and old clothes plus a spare set to change later. Kids creativity in a house of no rules is beyond any adult understanding so they all looked pretty dirty afterwards.Tired and happy play date lasted for about 2.5h as we finished inside with some dancing and music. Everyone had some juice and biscuits and went home to take a loooong nap.
If you need any more inspiration and to see what we've been up to in terms of mess please check out our previous posts from Messy Play Date here: Year End Messy Play Date and Sticky Fingers Mess.
Next week more mess ladies?
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