Messy Play - Why we do it

At Little Curiosities we love Messy play opportunities! Sometimes the thought of mess and cleaning away deters parents from allowing their children to experience these in the home. However, many studies and research has shown the importance of offering these experiences, and it is one of the best ways for children to learn and develop.

Messy Play helps young children develop their early motor skills. When children squeeze soft dough, scoop up sand or make marks in crazy foam or sand, they are learning to refine their fine motor skills by using the muscles in their fingers, wrists, arms, toes and shoulders to make small movements. It also fosters Curiosity, Imagination and Exploration, encourages communication and language,practices good concentration and nurtures future skills, promotes physical development and independent play.

Get involved and get messy with our messy play ideas!

Get outside: the natural world is a playground of textures, smells and sensations, so go find some puddles or autumn leaves to jump in too!

Make the most of mealtimes: with younger children especially, allow them to experience eating in its entirety. Allow them to feel, smell and taste their food to engage all of their senses, then when they are slightly older you can teach them about table manners!

Play in the bath: water is one of the best natural materials to play with so why not add some sponges or empty plastic bottles and give your children an opportunity to play and explore.

Invest in a sandpit: sand triggers many sensations so let your child dig, pour and make sandcastles until their hearts are content.

Get creative with the mess: messy play is about the way things feel so go crazy with ideas. Whether you’re using everyday objects like paint and washing up liquid or investing in materials such as play dough and slime, you’re children just need to be given the opportunity to play with it and explore it. You can use items like washing up bowls, baking trays or small paddling pools!

Explore your food cupboards: food provides a great source of exploration and sensory stimulation so hunt for anything you can crunch, mash or manipulate. Dry foods such as cereal and pasta or interesting foods such as mashed potato, baked beans or jelly are perfect! We often use some of these in our small world play adding resources such as pirates, farm animals or play people.