5 Messy, Sensory Play Ideas for Toddlers

I'm excited to have another great guest poster here today ~ a fun mom whose blog's name just epitomizes life with young kids! 



Those of you with younger children may have already heard about the sensory play movement (providing your kids with opportunities to play and explore using their five senses).  However, for those of us with somewhat older kids, don't worry, many of the ideas for young toddlers can be just as fun for our big kids too!  Heck, after seeing these five great ideas Amanda is sharing today, I think even adults would have fun getting a little messy alongside their kids.

Check it out...

Hi, I'm Amanda and I blog over at Dirt and Boogers. I am thrilled to be guest posting today at Come Together Kids! I love Laura's blog! I'm the Mom of a 2 year old, J, and expecting a new baby in January. I believe that play is the most important part of childhood, so I blog a lot about the playful activities I do with my son. I also try to give some helpful tips and tricks of surviving parenthood along the way. Our favorite kind of play around here is to get elbow deep in sensory play. 

So today I'm going to show you my top 5 Messy Sensory Play Ideas for Toddlers!

  1.  Whipped Cream:  I simply dyed some whipped cream pink and let him go at it.  He got so messy, but had so much fun!    
2.  Water Beads and Shaving Cream:  This has a fantastic texture and was hours of fun!
   
3.  Cornmeal Letter Discovery:  This was a great activity for when J started showing some interest in letters.  Seriously fun and a wonderful learning experience too!
   
4. Dish Soap Foam:  This was seriously easy and a perfect toddler activity.  Don’t all kids love bubbles?
   
5. Jello and Cars:  Nothing like mixing ooey gooey jello and cars!  Any little boy’s dream.
   
Now, not all of our sensory play activities make big messes.  Here are a few more “non-messy” sensory play ideas you can check out.

• Bubble Wrap Painting
• Spices Collage
• Rice Cereal Sensory Tray

I also have a round up of 25 Sensory Trays that might give you some inspiration! Thank you, Laura, for inviting me to you fabulous blog today!


{Thank YOU, Amanda!  I love these ideas.  I can see what a fun and valuable experience these sensory play ideas would be for young kids and how much kids of any age would enjoy them.  ~Laura}