You might be surprised Charlotte. I remember with DD I didn't think to try lots of stuff because she was too little, but then DS came along and he already had an inbuilt babysitter lol who was doing stuff. He tried paint, crayons, chalk, playdough etc far earlier than DD did and loved them.
The painting with water type stuff - great age.
Playing with rice/flour in a tub with some spoons and cups. Yes they make a mess, but it's summer and it washes off.
Empty mixing bowl/spoon/plastic utensils when you're cooking