Dinosaurs in sticky mud

Have fun getting messy with this Dinosaurs in sticky mud sensory play activity.

Chocolate-scented oobleck (also known as goo) combined with plastic dinosaurs in their own small world will keep kids entertained with sensory and imaginative play in one.

I have been a long-time fan of Asia Citro’s blog Fun at Home With Kids. Her craft and play recipes are quirky, creative and always have me clicking through to the blog to read more about them.

When I was asked to review her new book 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids (affiliate link) I jumped at the chance, and I am so glad I did.

When the book arrived in the mail the other day the girls were immediately flipping through it and wanting to do lots of the activities. It came to us just as a large block of summer school holidays loom closer and closer, so holiday boredom is now sorted for my two girls!

Miss K got to choose the first activity we tried whilst her sister was at school. She was particularly drawn to the small world play set-ups, and loved the idea of making a pretty frog pond, but in the end  she couldn’t go past the Dinosaurs in Sticky Mud – this stuff is fun!

She had fun helping me put the small world together following the instructions in the book, available here.

We modified the ingredients slightly based on what we had in the pantry, and our variation of the mud is chocolate-scented because we added cocoa.

Miss K is a HUGE fan of any form of messy play and can always be counted on to get right into it – she couldn’t wait to get her hands into this gooey, oozey sticky mud!

Seeing it was a warm day we put the small world outside on the grass in the shade for her to enjoy. Here are a few pictures of just how much fun Miss K had playing with the small world and sticky mud…

Messy play is there to get messy, and Miss K doesn’t disappoint. After the dinosaurs had finished wallowing in the sticky mud Miss K’s feet went in and she had a good stomp in it, and after that she happily hosed herself off, clothes and all.

What could be more fun than spending an hour squishing, squelching and playing in chocolate-scented mud?

We have lots more activities earmarked from this book. Miss R keeps asking me when we can make the crystallising watercolours, and miss K keeps on sneaking the book into her room to look through it again.

You can get your copy of the book from Amazon.

More messy play ideas for kids:

• Make some flower ice cubes in a tray of salt – perfect for warm Spring or hot Summer days
• Here are 30 ways to have fun with bubbles
• Have some fizzy fun with mix’n mess backyard science
• Going to the beach (or sandpit) any time soon? Make a mermaid city in the sand
• Make some cinnamon cookie playdough for pretend-baking fun