Gross and Messy Day ideas for OSHC
23 DIY activities for a gross and messy day at before and after school care or vacation care, usually run around Spring or 1 January. Pick and mix, or build a balanced day in one click.
Baked Bean Gumboot Relay
Teams race to carry baked beans in gumboots and fill a container, a gloriously messy relay full of laughs.
Outdoor Explorers · Bug Day · Gross and Messy Day +2Bugs in Mud Cupcakes
Children decorate chocolate cupcakes with 'mud' icing and gummy worms poking out. A fun, slightly gross treat for an explorers' day.
Messy Play Day · Nature Play Day · Backyard Play Day +2Bush Mud Kitchen
Children cook up mud pies, leaf soups and potions in an outdoor kitchen of old pots, pans and utensils.
Gross and Messy Day · Messy Play Day · Game Show Day +1Cream Splat Chance Game
Children take turns rolling a die and hoping their number does not come up, or they get a dollop of foam on a paper plate pushed gently to their face.
Gross and Messy Day · Messy Play Day · Bug Day +1Custard Worm Hunt
A no-hands challenge where children search custard-filled trays for hidden lolly worms using only their mouths.
New Year's Party · Science Day · Science Week +2Fizzing Soda Fountains
Children drop mint lollies into bottles of soft drink and watch foamy fountains erupt, then compare which drinks fizz highest. A loud, splashy way to ring in the new year.
Science Day · Science Week · Volcano Day +1Foam Eruption Experiment
Older children watch yeast break down mild hydrogen peroxide to make a huge, warm foam eruption, learning about catalysts.
Gross and Messy Day · Slime Lab Day · Science Day +2Gelatine Slime
Children make a stretchy, gooey green slime from gelatine and syrup, exploring how ingredients change texture.
Messy Play Day · Sensory Day · Gross and Messy Day +2Goop, Mud and Sand Stations
Children move between stations of cornflour goop, edible chocolate mud and mouldable sand to explore very different textures.
Gross and Messy Day · Time Travellers Day · Medieval Times +1Gross History Facts
Children explore surprising facts about how people kept clean in the past and rank which ones they find the most gross.
Nature Play Day · Messy Play Day · Backyard Play Day +1Mud Kitchen Cooking
Children cook pretend meals with mud, water and leaves in an outdoor kitchen, using their imagination to plan menus.
Messy Play Day · Nature Play Day · Raw Art Day +2Mud Painting
Children mix mud to different thicknesses and use brushes, sticks and fingers to create earthy paintings outdoors.
Messy Play Day · Nature Play Day · Backyard Play Day +1Mud Pie Bakery
Children shape, decorate and serve mud pies in an outdoor mud kitchen, using leaves, petals and stones as toppings.
Gross and Messy Day · Halloween · Sensory Day +1Mystery Feely Boxes
Children reach into covered boxes to feel squishy, slimy and strange objects and guess what they are.
Great Race Day · Gross and Messy Day · Games Carnival Day +2No-Hands Donut Relay
Relay teams take turns eating a hanging donut without using their hands, then walk back to tag the next player for a funny, messy race.
Wet Weather Day · Messy Play Day · Nature Play Day +2Puddle and Mud Play
With gumboots, raincoats and spare clothes, children head outside to splash in puddles and play in the mud on a wet day.
Slime Lab Day · Halloween · Gross and Messy Day +1Slime Monsters
Children turn blobs of slime into silly creatures with googly eyes and beads, then give them names and back stories.
Messy Play Day · Sensory Day · Gross and Messy DaySoft Cloud Dough
Children mix flour and oil into a soft, mouldable dough that holds shapes but crumbles again, perfect for sensory play.
Gross and Messy Day · Messy Play Day · Sensory Day +1Spaghetti Toes
Children fish small toys out of a tub of cooked spaghetti using only their toes, a ticklish sensory challenge.
Halloween · Slime Lab Day · Messy Play Day +2Spooky Cornflour Goo
Children make a squishy, gooey slime from cornflour and conditioner, add colour and hide plastic spiders inside.
Gross and Messy Day · Halloween · Obstacle Course Day +1Torchlight Spooky Obstacle Course
Children navigate a simple obstacle course in a dimmed room using torches, ducking under webs and crawling through tunnels.
Gross and Messy Day · Cooking Day · Junior Chef Challenge +2Weird Food Combo Tasting
Children try unusual but safe food pairings, such as apple with cheese or popcorn with cinnamon, and rate each one.
Gross and Messy Day · Bug Day · Gardening Day +3Worm Exploring
Children dig gently for worms in a garden bed, observe them on trays and return them to the soil.