17/12/2024
Messy play is scheduled into every day of our preschool timetable. It is an important activity to include in a child’s day to day exploration to help them develop as well rounded individuals.
Messy play is also known as sensory play that can involve your child's 5 senses (touch, taste, smell, sound and sight). Messy play lets your child explore lots of different materials, textures and objects. It will also help develop your child's creative and cognitive skills.
According to the official NHS website;
Messy play helps with your child’s development in lots of different ways and therefore is important to include in their early years education.
Physical skills 🎨 Messy play encourages your child to play with smaller objects. They will be able to to feel, hold and mold objects and materials. This builds their coordination and hand skills, also known as fine motor skills.
Cognitive skills 🎨 It helps the development of important cognitive skills such as how your child thinks, learns, explores and solves problems.
Understanding their senses 🎨 As your child plays, they will be using a lot of their senses. The most used sense during messy play will be touch and sight. They can explore new textures and sensory experiences.
Social skills 🎨 Messy play can be a social group activity. They can also learn important skills like sharing and turn taking by playing with other children during messy play.
Imagination 🎨 It gives your child an opportunity to try new things and experiment in a safe environment.
Self-esteem and self-expression 🎨 It can help your child feel safe to experiment more as they play as they know there is no right or wrong way to play.