This week in Jasper, messy play has been the forefront of all of our activities, from creating slimy concoctions in our water tables to enjoying the muddy yard outside, our friends have been immersed in this area of play. Now many of us immediately melt into a cold sweat at the thought of children and mess in the same sentence, as for putting our precious little bundles of joy into something messy …. surely not!! However, many and varied studies have shown that “messy” play can contribute massively to the cognitive and creative development of young children. In fact this type of play can continue to have numerous benefits throughout our entire lives including a great way to relieve stress and tension as development continues. The term “messy” is often seen as negative and therefore undervalued but to give a child the opportunity to explore, create and combine new materials without a necessary end result is a massive step towards their physical and emotional well being. Without boundaries in their exploration they will develop confidence in their ability, become risk takers in their learning and be happy to try new things with confidence.

Messy Play allows:

• Children to explore without a focus on making or producing something (so no pressure to get it right).
• Children have the opportunity to mold and manipulate new materials.
• Children also use all 5 senses in the process of exploration, especially the sense of touch.
• It is a positive approach to new experiences for children

This list is by no means exhaustive, messy play can also develop concentration, problem solving, planning, sharing, response, feelings, counting, creativity, imagination, communication, vocabulary, shape and so on.Children at different levels of development can all play together as there is no right/wrong way to explore, so barriers are lifted and tolerance and acceptance are promoted.

The benefits of messy play are boundless and we hope to continue to explore them in the upcoming weeks.

Lastly we would like to say goodbye to our student educator, Amelia, all of our Jasper friends have enjoyed having her play and explore with us, we wish her the best in her future adventures.

Have a great long weekend everyone 🙂