HH I love this idea. I've been thinking about it for Z but I can't work out what I would put them in. What size tray/dish do you use? And do you just gt them doing it in the kitchen or on a play mat? X
Hi Sara,
I got what they call a shirt storage box from the DIY store. It's 37cm long, 30cm wide and 15.5cm deep, is made of strong clear plastic and has a lid. We can use it for water play too (I made a frog pond with craft foam lilypads and plastic frogs for him last week, safely stored with the lid on when not in use)
For the treasure hunt I filled it with 2kg of mung beans which were on offer at the supermarket (Ramadan special event I think!) and buried loads of plastic pirate coins. As creations says, you can also bury plastic animals and bugs for them to find
I just let him have it on the floor as it's easy enough to sweep up any spilled beans - DS always helps pick them up or uses his little dustpan and brush as he knows that's the rules for this kind of play. After use the beans go back in the bag and can be used for play again. As long as they are kept separate from stuff you actually may ever eat then it's fine
For water play indoors I just put big towels down on the floor. For outside it doesn't matter!
If you really want to contain the mess then you could put LO and the tub in one of those car boot liner tarpaulins which clip together ar the corners to provide a lip all around?
DS likes pouring the beans through a funnel into a container so I always make sure there are scoops, small containers and a funnel in the tub as well