Smalltown Bookworm: Messy Playdate Preschool Program

Summer usually means nice weather, so I planned a fun outdoor program for preschoolers: Messy Playdate. The idea is that kiddos and their grownups could get literally play and get messy without worry. Everything was set up outside, with wipes and a garden hose nearby. Easy cleanup!

I held this program twice on a Friday morning at 11am. This was a decent time for this age group. The first session we had 13 participate and the second session we had 8. Only one family was present both times. I think in the future a little bit more in the description of what to expect would be helpful to attract wary grownups.

I set up the lawn with a few stations:

Gel paint and shower curtains. One article I'd seen suggested hanging up the shower curtain. I laid it flat on the ground with a tub of homemade gel paint on each corner. The kids loved this station the most. The sensory experience of hand painting won out over using the basting brushes to paint.
Bubbles and sidewalk chalk. Although not all that messy, we had a wonderful strip of sidewalk along the lawn so I just had to use it for the kiddos.
Shaving cream and sponges. For this station, I laid out another shower curtain and emptied two cans of shaving cream all over it. A bucket of water sat on each corner to hold it down and there were some sponges in those. The kids loved getting the suds on their feet!
Baking soda & vinegar play. We have cafeteria style trays that I lined the table with. Then put vinegar in little cups and baking soda directly on the tray. The kids could pour the vinegar on the cup and see the reaction up close. Some kids brought over a little gel paint to test that out.
Ice painting. Simply freeze some ice cubes up with flakes of watercolor or other water based paint in it. The kids use their hands to paint on paper while the ice cubes melt and "paint."

Overall, I think this program is worth doing again, maybe adding a few more messy stations.