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Messy Play Fun at BestStart Waiata Shores.
Messy play is all about having fun – and the pre-schoolers did exactly that yesterday. Since there is no right way to carry out messy play, it is all about letting children explore and experiment with different creative resources without any end goals to restrict them.
The teachers set up some fun and engaging activities where the children got the opportunity to explore and have creative fun.
Some activities that the children explored were:
• messy painting and foam
• flour, dye and water
• petals, leaves and stem with water and dye.
• sand and water play
During these learning moments the children are:
Fostering their curiosity, imagination and exploration – all the experiences where hands on for the children to have creative fun and make their own discoveries.
It also encourages communication and language development through group play – lots of ideas were discussed and what the children were doing, how things felt to touch (cold, slimy, wet, yucky). The children are also learning to work alongside each other by learning to share, negotiate, take turns and problem solve (conflict resolution).
It helps develop focus and concentrations skills – it encouraged children to be involved in one activity for a longer period than moving onto something different or things that interested them.
Promotes and strengthens physical development - this allows children to be aware of their body for example when stirring, pouring, and drawing on the sand the children are using the large and small muscles.
And finally it also supports independent play – not all children enjoy playing with or alongside others so messy play is also a great way to help children learn that there is no right or wrong way of doing things and that one can still explore, problem solve develop confidence and self-esteem through independent play.