Messy play ideas for children

If the idea of messy play fills you with terror, please don’t turn away just yet. You may be pleased to know kids actually benefit more when the mess is contained. Keep reading and we’ll show you how.

What is messy play for children?

Messy play is a fantastic sensory experience where children are encouraged to play with different textured materials that engage their senses and strengthen neural connections. In other words, it helps their brains to grow. Popular materials for messy play are finger paint, playdough, water, slime and mud – they’re irresistible textures for children to experiment with and explore. So much fun!

Why is messy play important for children?

Messy play benefits children in so many ways, including:

• Sensory development: Exploring different textures, smells, and colours.
• Physical development: Strengthening fine motor skills and coordination.
• Emotional growth: Building resilience and confidence.
• Cognitive skills: Problem-solving, decision-making and early math concepts such as measuring and pouring.
• Social interaction: Encouraging collaboration and language development during group play.

You can keep messy play contained

We can’t promise there won’t be any mess, but you can keep messy play contained. It’s better that way. Messy play works best in a tidy, defined space where children feel invited and comfortable. Spread out a tarp for a painting activity, set up playdough on a table, water play in a tub on the grass, and sand in a sandpit. Let children know the activity needs to stay in one place. Of course, they must be supervised to ensure they stay in the messy zone.

Messy play tips and tricks

Depending on the activity, your child may like to wear an apron or smock, or choose an old shirt as a “painting/craft shirt”. For really messy activities, it’s worth having a wet washer prepared to wipe messy fingers or pop the kids straight in the bath afterwards. When the weather is warm, you can challenge children to run through the sprinkler until they’re clean or fill a tub with water and bubbles for a fun wash outdoors where you can still supervise them while you tidy up.

Messy play ideas

• Indoor activities 

Playdough is a great activity for developing fine motor skills, finger strength and creativity and you can take it up a notch by adding different scents. This activity is best done at the table over tiles (not carpet!) – or even buckled into high chairs for younger children. Read about why playdough is the ultimate school readiness activity and try our recipe.

Honestly, the best way to keep messy play contained inside at home is to set it up in the bathtub! Bubbles, bath crayons and shaving cream are fun textures to explore, while measuring cups and spoons can help children investigate cause and effect as they scoop, pour and splash.

• Outdoor activities

Some kids can manage finger painting inside, but if you’re unsure, take it outside. Setting up an easel on grass helps define the painting space. Have pegs handy to hang their masterpieces on the clothesline to dry (just not near your clean washing!).

Another idea for messy play is to fill a tub with rice, beans or pasta to make a sensory bin. Kids can scoop, pour and sort or drive mini cars and trucks through it.

Go all out and set up a mud kitchen for the ultimate messy play activity! Maybe there’s a patch of dirt in your backyard (or at Grandma’s house) ready for a jug of water, a wooden spoon and an old saucepan so your child can stir, mix and bake culinary creations.

Buy or borrow a water play table (try friends or your local toy library) to just add water for instant play. A tub with some bath toys or plastic cups works too. Try our favourite water play stations.

Take a walk to scavenge leaves, sticks and seed pods to create nature-based crafts.

• Kitchen experiments 

The kitchen is a treasure trove for messy, sensory learning. From baking a cake or cookies to making slime or sensory bags, pop on an apron and get started. You may like to try our kitchen science experiments or our top slime recipes.

Messy play at Edge Early Learning

Educators lead children in messy play activities at Edge Early Learning. From painting to sand and water play, we encourage children to investigate, explore and create with a range of textures and materials.