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Gloopy Goodness at BestStart Ngatai Road
Our tamariki love to explore with their senses and using our planning of 'our bodies', we like to incorporate lots of mess! Gloop is so much fun! It's tricky to pick up, with tiny fingers and then it melts when you touch it, making for lots of thinking and working out, refining fine motor skills and the pincer grip starts to come into play which is essential for holding a pen or pencil later on. Lots of mixing, stirring, and pouring help with developing hand-eye coordination and gross motor skills too.
We use gloop as a calming tool, especially for those new settling in tamariki, as it's relaxing to do repeatedly. Toddlers are developing their personality, their likes and dislikes, and at this age, they're letting everyone know about it! So we will offer messy play in a group setting so they can learn about turn-taking, allowing their friends to have space and learn without interruptions and most importantly, HAVE FUN. Gloop is easy to do at home, food colouring, cornflour and water and give it a mix. It's easy to clean up when it's dry, it just brushes off, but best done outside!