Today I thought I would share with you some of the things I have bought and regularly buy to facilitate messy and sensory play in our house.

I got quite excited thinking of all the things and looking back at how we have used them, and forward about how we are planning to use them again.

I hope that you find the list useful and if there is anything that you think I have missed please do add it in the comments so that people can see.

Here we go, unpacking shopping for messy and sensory play.

Big Buys
Tuff Spot / Cement mixing tray
Large garden trays
Large roasting tins
Large plastic bowls preferably big enough to sit in!
A water / sand table

For stress free messy play you need a space to play. A space to create small worlds or messy concoctions.

We love our Tuff Spots we have one in the garden and two indoors. Sometimes twins need space to play together and sometimes they enjoy time apart and different activities. We have large octagonal cement mixing trays and large square gardening trays. We also use roasting tins for small worlds and messy mark making.

We have just bought these scan trays as an extra space to play.

If you are doing your messy play on a carpeted floor you may choose to buy some large plastic mats to lay down especially if you are bringing water inside.

We are in a fortunate position that our house is old and in need of renovation so the playroom is where we get messy. The carpet is covered in paint and play dough and we genuinely do not mind. Lots of materials we use for our play can be hoovered up easily so that is always a bonus.

Once you have your space to play it is time to think about what you want to play with. Here are some ideas for a messy and sensory play stock cupboard.

Messy Materials (with your weekly or monthly shop)
Flour
Cornflour
Salt
Sugar

Caster sugar
Icing sugar
Custard powder
Dream Topping powder
Instant Whip powders
Jelly
Cotton wool
Tin foil
Greaseproof paper
Cupcake cases
Paper plates
Paper cups

Messy Essentials and Extras
Water Beads

Submersible lights
Plastic eggs
Play Doh
Plasticine
Gelli Baff
zip lock bags
ice cube trays

Many of the things on this list can be bought from Ebay, Amazon or Pound Shops.

Water beads are florist beads that come in sachets that need to be hydrated before use, they can then be dehydrated and rehydrated several times so are a great value resource for messy play. And they are wonderful for sensory play. Just be careful that little ones do not put them in their mouth!

There are so many other things to add to your play.

Messy play and sensory play can make use of most things.

We add to our scenes and small worlds with pebbles and shells, sticks and stones, leaves and even rubbish from the recycling bin.

We also take our messy and sensory experiences outside as often as we can.

But I hope that this list and the links will give you some inspiration and ideas to get started with messy play.

Have fun! Get messy and let me know how you get on by linking up to Messy Play for Matilda Mae!

And if you are going to let your little ones get messy let them have some fun getting clean too!

Today a boy
No taller than a gnome
Melted my heart
With his awe
His wonder
His innocence

A few months ago
I asked William if he would like Mummy to have another baby
His reply
“But what did happen to Baby Tilda?’

Today we were talking about Esther and William’s friend
Who has a new baby sister
William said
“Our baby sister died”
I replied
“Yes she did. But you might have another baby sister one day. Would you like another baby sister?”
“Yes. Shall we get one? We have lots of toys. We would have to get some baby toys.”
“Would you like to come with me to the shops to choose some baby toys?”
“Yes”
“But we cannot get a baby from the shops. Do you know where babies come from?”
“From tummies!”

We did not say anymore about it

Later today my best friend was with William
And he out of the blue told her he would like a baby sister
That this baby would be different to Baby Tilda
Would not be Baby Tilda
They then discussed how Esther is Esther and William is William
And Tilda will always be Tilda
William finished their little chat by saying
“And Edward is Edward. Edward is not Winnie the Pooh”

So simple
Such beauty
So matter of fact
Such innocence

Today a boy
No taller than a gnome
Melted my heart
With his awe
His wonder
His innocence