Messy and magic moments!
Children learn through exploring the world around them! A great way to help them do this freely is through messy play – it helps them with so many skills, from pre-writing skills to developing confidence with trying new activities.
Messy play ideas:
- Gloop: gradually add water and cornflower together in a tray to make a slimy paste which runs off your fingers – add colanders, spoons, forks, tubs, tea strainers etc to get your child really exploring
- Shaving foam: spray into a tray/bowl to make marks with your fingers – any patterns, shapes, numbers or letters are all early writing practice for your child
- Ice: pop little toys into ice cube trays or cups of water and put in the freezer – once frozen, your child can hold the ice blocks and watch them melting, revealing the toys
- Spaghetti: cook a big batch, leave it to cool and then let your child explore (either in a big bowl or spread out on a sheet on the floor) – have fun talking about what it looks/feels like
- Witches potion: add food colouring, mud, leaves, flowers, plastic bugs…
- Painting: use different sized paint brushes in the garden to pain fences or patios – this is great to get little muscles ready for later writing skills
- Printing: use different shaped sponges dipped in paint to print on a big piece of paper – together you and your child can count how many shapes they have printed
Top tips:
- Create an area for your child: providing a space and the resources for messy play will help keep the messy area contained
- Use suitable clothing: for example, wetsuits or old clothes to reduce the chance of clothes getting spoiled
- If your child is a bit cautious of mess: try starting with smaller quantities of gloop/shaving foam in an egg cup, or playdough, then gradually build up to a bowl or tray
- If you’re indoors: items such as shower curtains or old bedding are good to lay out and protect the floor, and also make it easier to tidy up afterwards
- If you’re outdoors: sand trays/pits are good surface to use so your child can really get stuck into the messiness
