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Messy Play Activities For The Backyard

Summer is the perfect time of year for some messy play! Most kids are off from school, and if things get too messy, it's warm enough to rinse off with a hose. Here are a few of my family's favorite messy backyard activities.

#thebarefootmom


Squirt Gun Painting:

For this activity you will need:
-Squirt gun
-Food coloring
-White Paper
-Duct Tape

 Start by adding 10-15 drops of food coloring to a cup and add 1/2 cup of water. Use this colored water to fill your squirt gun.

 Tape a white piece of paper to a tree or fence with the duct tape. Or try just lying the paper on the ground.

 Make pretty designs on the paper by squirting the squirt gun at it.

 Make a new color and add to your art work.



Water Balloon Art:

For this activity you will need:
-Food coloring
-Water Balloons
-An old white sheet or table cloth you don't mind staining up.

 Add about 15-20 drops of food coloring to a water balloon, then fill it with water and tie. Make about 20 water balloons like this with various colors of food coloring.

 Hang the sheet or table cloth outside over a fence.

 Have your kids create art by throwing the balloons at the sheet or tablecloth.

 If your kids have trouble getting the balloons to pop on impact, try laying the sheet flat on the ground and throwing the balloons straight down at it.

Sidewalk Paint:

For this activity you will need:
-Cornstarch
-Water
-Food coloring
-Medium or large sized paint brushes. Sponge brushes work great for this activity.

 Mix 2 cups of cornstarch to 3-4 cups of water. Then pour the mixture into several small cups and add a different color food coloring to each cup (15-20 drops).

 Now you have sidewalk paint! Go outside and paint your driveway, sidewalk, or deck.




Mud Cake Decorating:

For this activity you will need:
-Mud
-Some sticks, leaves, berries, pine cones, rocks, etc...
-A couple old pie or cake pans you don't mind getting muddy

 This activity is super simple but my kids love it.

 Have your kids collect some cool nature items from around your yard like leaves, small sticks, small pine cones, pretty rocks, berries, whatever they think would make a nice decoration for a mud cake.

 Then build mud pies and cakes in your old pans and decorate using the items you collected.



What are your kiddos favorite messy play activities?
If you enjoyed this post, check out:

 Nature Stamping

 Backyard Nature Activities For Kids
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Comments

  1. Kristen of A Mom's Quest to TeachJuly 9, 2018 at 7:41 AM

    They just love to play with chalk and bubbles outdoors. Not really messy. They are not huge fans of getting dirty.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Brandy NicoleJuly 10, 2018 at 10:39 AM

    We love playing with bubbles and chalk too :-)

    ReplyDelete

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