Need some ideas for messy play for 4-7 year olds

[laweaselmys]

Something that will last about half an hour.

We have done slime and shaving foam, was thinking about something food related like baked beans or custard? Just getting them playing with food basically! But then not really sure where to go from there. Just give them bowls of different stuff and let them get on with it? Or use smaller bowls so they can mix it all up and gross each other out?

Urgh. Feel like I am not getting anywhere with this idea and that it needs more of a point, because off all the EFYS etc but surely messy play is just that?

Disability awareness - blindfold them with a scarf and get them to taste/touch/smell lots of different types of food and see how many they get right.

Ask them how they felt not being able to see and how hard was it to identify all the foodstuff without being able to see it - were they nervous about what they were being given?

Can extend this activity with blindfolded assault course so that they have to lead each other around - good on co-operation and for empathising with how blind people feel in new situations.

Good luck!

If you dye food the wrong colour - it will affect how the children taste it - so blue potato, red bread etc

You can weave with spaghetti

How about seeing how soluble foods are - do they dissolve in cold liquid, hot liquid, with stirring, with whisking

How about Marzipan/icing modelling?

Search out Katz and request a copy of her science experiement booklet. Lots of very simple, but fun and interesting science experiements which worked well at her DD's 6th birthday party with 5/6 year olds. hinks like magic colour chamge milk, exploding coke bottles, making lava lamps with oil and water, finding iron filings in breakfast cereals, using red cabbage water as an indicitor for acid/alkalis, etc.

ew, I'm not sure playing with food is sending the right message!!! - what are you going to tell them at dinner time - "don't play with your food"!!! Why not do papier mache - always good for mess and creativity!

I meant the OP by the way, the beans and custard!!! The science bits sound good and weaving spaghetti is probably fun!! As long as the bolognese is served separately!!

Why not just let them play outside in the wind amd rain and mud?

we have done rice / rice crispies / flour and all that, then made it into textured paint [put a different texture into each picture and do for instance a seaside scene with sand in your yellow paint, rice in your blue one and flour in, say, red or green]
Today we've done 'smelly' painting, curry powder in one (yuck i can still smell it) stinky granny-style talc in another, you get the gist. Just make sure if you're doing the 'smelly paint' think that your paints are edible not harmful if err, licked a bit
Have also done similar stuff with salt dough, putting colouring, glitter, washing up liquid in it...

all this we have done (actually with students with autism) as multi-sensory experiences - you can talk about the things that they saw / touched / smelled later, and note the discussion on their records.

Katz's science thread

Kbear I always see papier mache as a long term activity rather than a 30 minute activity....do you have a short cut?

Why not do something like oil & paint on water to make watermarks?

Something I let mine do which they all love is to have free rein to cook with real food.
They explore my larder and fridge and decide for themselves what to cook. It generally ends up as a big bowl of stagnant looking gloop which they then gleefully heat up, stirting with wooden spoons and watch change texture, give off different smells etc.

how about potato and paint stamping, the kids decide what shape they want to have cut on the pot' and then they dip it in their choice of colour paint and print, they can make book marks/ wrapping paper.

Or sticking rice/pasta to paper/or card. letting it dry on radiator, then painting it.

or mixing paint and fairy liquid in a pot, putting a straw in it and blowing. then when the bubbles are high enough, thye lay a sheet of paper over it and they have a perfect bubble print. Don't panic not that many children suck rather than blow, as long as you check they are blowing.

hope that helps.

well the sticking takes half an hour then you hose them down and clear up by which time it's time to paint!

sorry missed the bit about half an hour!! I like a nice papier mache experiment - me and DS made Apollo 11 the other night ha ha!! He couldn't believe that I agreed to it at 5pm on a school night, nor could I really but it was for his project on Neil Armstrong and who am I to get in the way of a budding astronaut?

If you put a small hole about 3 inches away from the child - it helps lessen the suck problem

They do play outside for about 3/4hr to an hour. Then we have a snack, then free play including a structured activity that they can take part in if they want. It's the structured activity I need help with!

Oooh, I like the idea of smelly/textured paintings! I'm pretty sure our paint is okay to ingest. Will investigate tomorrow.

Thanks for science link have emailed Katz.

What would I do without you lot! Thanks for all the ideas, should be able to get together a few weeks activities here.