Dinosaur eggs
Playing in the mud is fun. Using tools to dig dinosaurs out of muddy eggs is even more fun. Expect a lot of mess, but also a few minutes peace. They say that sensory activities like this are good for emotional regulation too, so even more reason to give it a try :)
We bought these dinosaur eggs off Amazon, but there are loads of places that sell them – just google “dinosaur egg toy” and you should find plenty. There’s also a cool rocks and minerals dig kit, for those who prefer gemstones over dinosaurs.
For the littlest ones, just bury things in homemade sand (8 parts flour to 1 part vegetable oil) and they can rummage around with bare hands.