Why Messy Play?

Halloween is near! And it's time to get slimy, squishy, squelchy and not be afraid to be splashed and dirty!

Halloween is near! And it's time to get slimy, squishy, squelchy and not be afraid to be splashed and dirty!

Kids absolutely loves to explore their world through their senses. It sounds (and can be!) messy, so you may often want to cut this type of play short. But in fact, sensory play has a very important role in your child’s health and development.

Through sensory play, their brains learn to identify and sort different objects and differentiate various sensations, such as hot and cold or smooth and rough, through filling, pouring, sorting, and so on.

Sensory play is simply play that engages any of your child’s senses. This includes touch, smell, sight, hearing, and taste. But it also covers movement, balance, and spatial awareness.

They will develop their fine motor skills by learning how to pinch, pour, shape, mould, and sort smaller objects. Playing with playdough, for example, helps improve their hand strength. These skills will later become handy for things like buttoning and zipping clothes, tying shoe laces, or writing.

By squatting, jumping, rolling, pushing, crawling, throwing and moving about in general, children also develop their gross motor skills.

When we give them a new object or material, children explore various creative ways to discover more about both the material and themselves.

Children can also become more confident and independent as they make new decisions about how to interact with their surroundings.

When children engage in sensory play together, they tend to watch how others handle the same objects. Not only do they discover new ways to move, hold, or squish, they also learn to share, play and communicate with others.

In our Music Movement and Messy play classes I always encourage every child to explore and move in their own pace that is comfortable to them, they might only want to observe at first or play on their own but eventually I can definitely see improvement in all of them each week!

Have a happy and messy Halloween everyone !