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    Home » paint » 10 Ways to Enjoy Messy Play this Summer

    10 Ways to Enjoy Messy Play this Summer

    Published: Jun 5, 2013 · Modified: May 3, 2022 by Vicky

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    If your kids are anything like mine, they love making a mess and getting messy. Messy play has many benefits such as new sensory experiences and the chance to explore creativity. Summer is just around the corner and since the kids will be home from school, it's a great time to explore play that is messy. So get out those play clothes and have some fun with these 10 ways to enjoy messy play this summer!

    This list of messy play ideas will keep my kids busy all summer!

    If you are interested in purchasing supplies for this activity, affiliate links are provided at the end of this post.

    Oobleck Recipe
    What can be more fun than playing with oobleck, which has the properties of both a liquid and solid. Kids can pound and push it or pick it up and watch it run through their fingers.

    Glitter Oobleck Recipe - A few simple ingredients needed to make this fun slime that kids love to play with. A great sensory experience for little ones!

    Playing with Mud

    Some water and soil creates a frugal and messy play experience for kids. They can experiment with the amount of water to mix in, scoop and dig and even make mud pies.

    Playing with mud

    Bubble Wrap Prints

    Next time you get a package, save the bubble wrap for this messy activity. Add some paint and paper to create works of art!

    making bubble wrap prints



    Painting with Squirt Bottles
    Clean out the condiment bottles you used at your last BBQ and fill them with paint for this messy art activity.

    Squirt Painting for kids

    Slide Painting

    Line a slide with some paper and give kids paint to pour. They will love this messy drip painting.

    Slide painting art

    Sensory Soap Dough

    This messy activity is a great sensory play experience and is made using ordinary bar soap. This is one messy activity that cleans up pretty easily!

    Making soap dough

    Kids Window Art

    All you need is a window and some paint. Oh, and some little artists willing to make a mess. Don't worry, this washes off easily with a hose.

    Window painting with kids

    Painting with Golf Balls
    You can do this activity with various sizes of boxes and balls. Squirt some paint in a box covered with paper and drop in some balls to create some messy art work.

    painting with golf balls

    Making Shaving Cream Cards and Wrapping Paper
    More fun with shaving cream. This time we played with this awesome sensory tool and made cards and gift wrap. Perfect for those summer birthday parties you are sure to be invited to.

    What are your favorite ideas for messy fun? I hope you enjoyed these 10 ways to enjoy messy play this summer.

    This list of messy play ideas will keep my kids busy all summer!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. TK

      June 05, 2013 at 7:03 pm

      These look like real fun! The only problem is that my toddler tries to eat everything...so I can only do 'edible' messy fun!

    2. Eric VanRaepenbusch

      June 06, 2013 at 1:19 am

      Lots of fun here! I saw the "KIDS WINDOW ART" and I laughed. We just got a new sand/water table and my one year old decided to "paint" our windows with wet sand! I decided to not clean them, since it is probably going to go on all summer!

      Great Post!

    3. EC

      June 25, 2013 at 5:03 pm

      I love the slide painting idea!

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    Hi, I'm Vicky, founder and content creator at Mess For Less. If you are looking for family friendly recipes, recipes that kids can make, and play and learning activities for kids, you will find it at Mess For Less. I invite you to learn more about me. Thanks for stopping by!

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