Little Man loves to help me around the kitchen. He also loves the messy play activities I prepare for him from time to time. For this one, I let him lend me a hand and prepare it almost all himself.
An old pan that was not safe for cooking had been sitting in the attic gathering dust. Since I rarely throw things away (which is why I have tons and tons of stuff in the attic), I remembered about it and took it downstairs so that Little Man could use it. It is big and deep enough for the activity I wanted to prepare, although the black bottom is not what I wanted exactly. I'd prefer something white so that all the other "ingredients" would be clearly visible, but we had to make do with it.
My boy helped me make the jelly first. I was "in charge" of the first part with the hot water and then I let him mix the jelly after I poured the second glass of cold water in.
Some sea shells we found in the attic while looking for the pan made it into our jelly. Of course, Little Man was allowed to wash them before using them in our activity.
He also added corn, pasta and sprinkles in the mix. Once he was done, we put the pan in the fridge. It would stay there for a day. Then, the second part of fun would begin. He would be able to smash it, "save" the shells from the jelly using his hands and spoons and in the end of the activity he'd help me clean up and wash the shells in order to use them again in a new activity.
He seemed to love the first part more, as he sometimes gets frustrated when he gets his hands dirty and asks for me to clean them. Maybe that's because I can't stand getting dirty and I am always behind him with a paper towel or a baby wipe 😂 although I try to let him as free as possible, but my OCD is hard to resist sometimes...
Stay tuned for more messy activities!!
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