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Examples of messy play

Material to be explored Water plain, coloured with food colouring, scented, mixed with bubbles, warm, cool, ice, offered at the taps, when bathing or in a water tray Sanddry for sieves, wet for sand castles, sloppy for pouring, mixed with washing-up liquid, etc
Material to be explored

Water plain, coloured with food colouring, scented, mixed with bubbles, warm, cool, ice, offered at the taps, when bathing or in a water tray Sanddry for sieves, wet for sand castles, sloppy for pouring, mixed with washing-up liquid, etc

Claymixed with water to make paste and of different types including clay from the garden if you have it

Soil garden soil, compost of different types

Shaving foam with paint, glitter, etc

Cornflour with food colouring

Whisked soapflakes

Dough change its consistency by adding more water or other materials such as oil

Gluedifferent types of glue such as wallpaper paste, flour and water and PVA, all to be explored in their own right

Paintagain, to be explored in its own right. Let the children mix their own paint from the powder paint

Shredded paperwith straws

Lentils, beans, peas with tins

Jelly, porridge, custard especially for babies during meal times

POSSIBILITIES FOR LEARNING

What does warm water feel like? How does the water feel when it comes out of the tap? What makes it come out? Why do some things sink? Why does ice float? How can I transport water from one bowl to another? How does the pump work? What makes a bubble?

Why does sand need to be wet to be moulded? Why wouldn't wet sand go through the sieve? What happens when I mix the sand with washing-up liquid?

How can it be moulded? How long can I roll this piece of clay? How can I make it round? What other shapes can I make? What happens to the clay when I hit it with a mallet?

What is soil? What's in it? What does it look like? How does it smell? What happens if you add water to it?

What does it feel like? What does it smell like? What happens when I add paint? What marks can I make?

How much water should I add? What happens if I add too much/not enough? What happens if I add yellow and blue food colouring? How does it change when I pick it up? Why does that happen?

What happens when I mix water with the soap flakes? Why does that happen? What does the foam feel like?

Why do we add oil? What happens if I don't add oil? How far will my ball of dough stretch? What can I make from it? What happens if I add food colouring?

How much water should I add to the wallpaper glue? What does it feel like as it squeezes through my fingers? What does it smell like? What happens to glue when it dries? What happens to my hands when the glue dries on them?

How do I make thick/thin paint? Why does some paint drip? What marks can I make with thick paint? What happens when two colours mix? Why does that happen?

What does the paper feel like? What happens when I throw it in the air? What happens when I use a straw to blow/suck?

What happens when I put the lentils in the tin? What does it sound like? How many peas can I get in this cup? What happens when I put too many in?

How does it feel? How does it taste? Why does it fall off the spoon? What happens when I put my fingers in it?

Add equipment, such as spoons, spatulas, sieves, straws, large and small containers, small-world figures including play people and cars