At OMO, we believe that every stain represents an important experience - mud stains are the stamp of adventure, grass stains are the sign of exploration and fruit stains are the aftermath of discovery. Encourage your kids to get messy with our fun activities for happy, healthy, confident kids. We'll be there to sort out the dirty clothes afterwards.
Mudball Splat
A fun activity that involves throwing mudballs to answer safety-themed questions. This helps in developing social awareness and co-ordination.
What you’ll need:
What to do:
Draw large faces on pieces of paper showing different emotions. You can also draw faces in sand using a stick.
Think of a few different scenarios you can describe to your child, including some where there might be a safety risk. For example: going to a water park; getting separated from your parents at a park or shop; getting new clothes; falling over and bumping your head.
With your child, mix up sand and water to make mudballs.
Lay out the pictures of emotions or show them the pictures you’ve drawn in the sand. Tell your child about each of the scenarios you’ve thought of and ask them to throw a mudball at the emotion they think they would feel in that situation.
Talk through each situation and what would be the best way to handle it.
You can include situations in which other people may be in danger and ask your child what they might do to help that person. Talk with them about responsibility towards others and for their own safety. This can also be a good way to introduce a discussion about stranger danger.
Alternative Materials:
Change it up:
Make it easy: Use only two emotions: happy or sad. Make the scenarios simple and don’t use scenarios that include other people.
Make it a challenge: Use emotions that are not obvious to understand, like relief, confusion or feeling nervous. Use more serious situations, like someone getting seriously hurt or if your child sees someone stealing.
Indoor play: If you can’t do this activity outside, you could still use mud in a waterproof space like a bathroom or kitchen, or you could give your child crumpled up balls of paper to throw at the pictures.
Developmental areas:
Social awareness
Body Awareness
Hand-eye coordination
Using both sides of your body
Torch
Values:
Honesty, speaking out when in danger; self confidence.