Sensory Play Without the Mess

The clue is in the name, messy play is messy! You can embrace sensory play and accept that you’re going to have some cleaning up to do at the end of creative activities, covering up surfaces to minimise the mess. However, there are probably times when you want a sensory activity that doesn’t involve too much of a cleanup operation once the fun is over. Playdough and outdoor water play tick these boxes, but it’s easy to fall into a rut of always going to the same options for clean messy play.  If you want to mix things up for your kids, why not try out the following suggestions for less messy sensory activities. These cleaner options for sensory play are also a good bet if your little ones don’t like getting their hands dirty.

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Fun with items from your store cupboard

Although the likes of tinned custard and spaghetti are great materials for babies and toddlers to explore, you’re not going to escape the mess with these edible materials. On the other hand, dried pasta, rice, lentils, couscous and oats are ideal for taking a good chunk of the messy out of sensory play. Small children will love scooping up these dry foods and pouring them through funnels, moving them from one container to another and arranging them into patterns. Your little ones will also enjoy the skin feel as they dance on lentils or trickle couscous over their skin. If you use a plastic sheet or tarp, once your tots have had their fill of exploration, you can simply scoop up dry foods using a serving spoon or spatula.

A twist on water play

Besides adding food colouring to water or using a variety of utensils, youngsters can enjoy water play with a difference when they have a go at washing up. They’ve probably seen you wash the dishes tens of times, so they’ll enjoy the chance to role play, and like sensory play, let’s pretend activities enhance tots’ development. If you have a step-up, you can use your kitchen sink for playing wash up. Simply place a plastic bowl with soapy water and one with water to rinse in the sink and provide a tea towel for drying. Let your little ones choose whether they wash a plastic tea set, safe utensils or their toys. If you aren’t able to use a sink, set up the bowls outside, or on a wet day, run the activity on a wipe clean floor.

Image by Krosseel via Morguefile

Explore natural items

The fun of this activity comes in two parts, as your kids will enjoy collecting items for their nature box, as well as exploring them afterwards. You could collect natural objects from your garden, the beach, when out on a woodland walk, or from anywhere else that might have items of interest. Examples of additions to your children’s nature sensory box include autumn leaves, pine cones, twigs, stones, shells, feathers, sheaves of wheat or corn, and grasses. For preschool kids who are beyond putting objects in their mouth, you can also include items like acorns and edible berries such as rosehips and rowan. Once you’ve gathered the natural objects together, there are various ways your little ones can explore the collection. If you have a baby, you can simply use your finds as a treasure basket for them to investigate. Alternatively, toddlers and preschoolers might enjoy making a leaf collage or sticking other items to make a picture. You can also incorporate natural items into sand and water play.

Lock in the mess

With a zip lock bag, taped as an extra precaution, you can contain the mess of items like paint, jelly and water thickened with cornflour. Youngsters will enjoy squishing the materials inside the sealed bag and drawing shapes with their fingers. For extra interest, you can put other additions in the bag such as buttons, sequins, glitter, dried beans and lentils. Little ones will enjoy poking at the inclusions and moving them around the bag, though you should still carefully supervise young children with this activity in case the bag bursts.

These are just four examples of sensory activities that let you control the mess, but there are many more possibilities. Perhaps you have some favourite activities with minimal clearing up required that you’d like to share?