Put away the mops and pails – find out how your little one can benefit from messy sensory play!
Parents, put down those mops and ignore those cleaning cloths: it’s time to get messy with the little ones. It’s official, mum and dad: educational experts say that messy play is actually a cornerstone in early childhood learning and should definitely be encouraged. What’s more, not only is mucky play a whole heap of fun, but it’s also proven that babies learn best when they’re able to engage all of their senses. So instead of vetoing your little Picasso’s next icky sticky sensory play activity, encourage them to make a whole heap of mess for a whole lot of educational fun! We’ve been speaking with the lovely learning experts over at Learning Vision to get the full grubby lowdown on the benefits of sensory, messy play…
HoneyKids Bubs & Tots Messy Playgroup with Learning Vision
Parents, put down those mops and ignore those cleaning cloths: it’s time to get messy with the little ones! The educational experts at Learning Vision say that messy play is actually a cornerstone in early childhood learning and should definitely be encouraged! Looking for messy play activities to try? Take a peek at our super cute video for #messyplayinspo!
Posted by HoneyKids Asia on Monday, 18 February 2019
How does messy play help my baby’s development?
Blink and you’ll miss it – babies grow and develop mentally and physically at a faster rate than at any other time in their lives, and keeping those busy brains ticking over is essential. It’s sooo important to give them activities that support constant development of language, cognitive and social-emotional abilities, and guess what kind of play achieves all of this? Yep: you’ve guessed it! Messy play! Get elbow deep in mucky fun with your bubba and make sure you chat and talk throughout: bubbas may not be able to express themselves like the grownups, but they are listening in and soaking up your descriptions of those sensations and textures for sure. Don’t forget to ask them questions too: they may not answer back when they are very small but it encourages them to understand the art of conversation.
What kinds of messy play activities should I try?
Messy play involves a whole heap of tactile and sensory experiences that include experimenting with paint, getting busy with playdough, making a splash with water play and plenty of other hands-on creativity you can think of. Mud pies anyone? All this kind of adventure encourages children’s imaginations and keeping them occupied with sensorial explorations using a variety of materials and textures is not only heaps of fun, but educational too.
Stock up on materials such as flour, water, dry (and cooked) pasta, dry lentils, natural food colouring, non-toxic paint and then let your imagination go wild creating messy play activities that tots will adore. With messy play, there is no right or wrong way to play. Mess washes away while memories last forever.
The more babies have access to touching, feeling, seeing and hearing in their everyday activities, the better! And if you’re really keen on skipping the cleanup then we’ve got just the solution: head to Learning Vision’s playgroup on 16th February! We’ve been having a whole ton of fun at these sessions, and we love seeing the smiles on your little ones faces as they get to explore messy zones aplenty. Playdough, baby chef activities, art and water have all been key for the age-appropriate play programme we’ve lined up with the Learning Vision teachers! Treasured moments for sure.
RSVP for all the fun, and see you and your little one at the next Learning Vision playgroup!
This post is sponsored by Learning Vision