The boys have been on holiday this week, so I’ve been looking for activities to reduce the number of times I hear the words ‘I’m bored… what can I do now…’ from the 6yo! My biggest success was some fun with jello!
For my first foray into jello play I kept it very small scale!
I gathered together some bugs and mini dinosaurs to ‘hide’ in the jelly. I then made up batches of blue and green jello. I just used ordinary jello, which was perfect for this activity as it went suitably sloppy after they’d been playing with it for a bit, but a friend has subsequently mentioned ‘finger jello’ to me (which goes rubbery?) that I must investigate too…
I filled the two tubs with jelly and popped them in the fridge over night.
I had mentioned to the boys that I was making jelly for them to play with, so the first thing the 6yo asked the next morning was if he could see it! As soon as they had eaten breakfast they ran off (unprompted) and got themselves painting aprons (baby/toddler ones that are far too small for them!) so they could get started :)
They began fairly tentatively, and of course the first thing they did was taste the jelly! They loved digging the bugs and dinosaurs out of the jelly and discovering which ones I had used!
As they got more confident (and realised that I wasn’t going to tell them off for making a mess…) they started to really play with the jelly, get handfuls of it and feel it, squish it, spread it – throw it at each other!?
Then of course, their sister’s curiosity got the better of her, and she just had to join in. She loved the feel of the jelly (and the taste!).
Then the 6yo decided it would be funny to feed her jelly – and she returned the favour!
The boys had a lovely time – the 4yo was very proud of his slightly blue hands…
They even thanked me for letting them ‘get messy inside’ and told me how much they’d enjoyed it. We will definitely be doing this again, on a much bigger scale and with more hidden surprises! And once the tuff spot arrives I will let the wee girl get really stuck in!
I’m linking up with Jennie at Edpsire for the wonderful Messy Play for Matilda Mae linky, click on the badge below to have a look at some of the other great posts – and perhaps get some inspiration!
Oh your photos have made me smile!I love this idea,the colours were so bright and attractive and it looked like the kids had a whale of a time!Popping over from #messyplatformatildamae
Thank you – the boys loved it, as did their sister! A bright, colorful, sticky mess :) Thanks for reading xx
BRILLIANT! sorry for the capitals – typing in the dark. What great pictures of them with each other.
Thank you! They had a lot of fun – it’s lovely to find an activity that all three of them can enjoy :) Thanks for commenting xx
That is great – I have some jelly I was going to use but hadn’t thought about putting anything in it! Great pictures, looks like they had lots of fun!
Thanks – they enjoyed digging the toys out! Thanks for reading xx
Oh bless them, that looks great fun! Wish we could get blue jelly over here too! Not sure what finger jello is, but the last time I used jelly in messy play I just added less water as I wanted the baby to be able to pick it up. Worked a treat!
xx
Ah, I will try that – but if I find ‘finger jello’ I will let you know! And I’ll bring blue jelly over with me the next time I’m back and send you some :)
Oh my son would love this with his dinosaurs, great idea!
The boys thought it was great fun – and have been asking to do it again :) Thanks for commenting xx
This looks like some tasty, messy fun that was had.