When it's not completely freezing we layer up and don waterproofs and head into the garden because his other go-to activity is picking up leaves and arranging them in his sand and water table (I bought it on sale in September and the shop assistant sniggered and said we wouldn't get to use it until Spring, I just smiled politely and explained my toddler doesn't melt in rainwater!).
Sam loves mess and I love the expression on his face when he's making it. I don't however, love the tidying up afterwards so I was delighted to start Doodle&Splat this term. It's not an overly structured session although there is a small project each week involving paint, glitter and glue etc and there are messy play opportunities galore. Also, no-one seems to mind when Sam decides he'd rather run laps around the room and eat his snack on the move like he did today!