This month, our Nursery tamariki have been exploring the texture of shredded paper.
The children had so much fun, all the paper was in a basket, and the children could throw it in the air, roll their hands through it, pull the shredded paper apart and more. Some children had so many giggles when they put paper on their head, or on a teachers head. This was such a wonderful experience for our nursery children to engage in, and when they were finished, the children helped to sweep up the paper with a small brush and shovel.
Shredded paper is a tactile sensory leaning experience. But what is the point of this apart from making a mess? It encourages relaxation and enjoyment of the process rather than the end result and provides a range of social interaction including co-operative and parallel play. This helps children to develop fine motor skills, and promotes confidence in children as there is no predetermined skills required. Their body movements during this encourage expression and creativity.
Here at BestStart Cranford Street, we believe in providing children with the opportunity to explore carefree and enjoy messy play to promote social skills and gain spatial awareness.