Messy Play: Getting Your Hands Dirty

Regular readers of Edspire will know

That we adore messy play

The messier the better

It is something we have encouraged at home from a very early age

It is something we do in memory of Tilda

Messy Play for Matilda Mae

messy-play-small

Messy and sensory play is fun

It is also creative and calming

Engaging and immersive

It can take little minds off bigger things

As fans of messy play

We were delighted on our latest trip to Coombe Mill

To discover the Mud Kitchen

Here Esther, William and Bea could spend hours

Doing their favourite things

Working together as a team

Using their imaginations

Getting very dirty and slightly soggy

And making a whole lot of muddy, magical mess

mud team

There are many reasons to let your children engage in messy play

Many reasons for parents and carers to join in

And get their hands dirty too

Here are just a few of them

Children use their imaginations to invent, concoct and create

Children talk about what they are doing and develop their vocabulary

Children can make plans

Children learn to find solutions to problems

Children learn to communicate, negotiate and collaborate

Children build up their immune systems by getting dirty and being outside

Children can learn about cause and effect

Children develop fine and gross motor skills

Children have fun and satisfy their sense of fascination, awe, wonder and curiosity

mud play

In the mud kitchen at Coombe Mill

Esther, William and Bea

Worked together as a team

coombe mill mud

They worked out who would use which tools, utensils and apparatus

They decided what their mud creations were

Mud muffins

Fairy soup

Thick, hot coffee

concoctions

They poked and prodded

Slopped and stirred

They laughed and smiled and talked

They took turns and shared

They used their imaginations

Told stories

And acted out scenes

master mudchef

They used their maths skills

To estimate, measure and compare

It was wonderful to watch them play together

Learning alongside one another

Clearly demonstrating the many benefits

Of messy, sensory and outdoor play for everyone to see

mud kitchen

Next year we are staying in a different house at Coombe Mill

Esther and William are very excited

Because it is right next to the mud kitchen

And they will be able to play there

Whenever they want

mud queen

We are also making a mud kitchen of our own

This summer, as part of our house renovations

We are looking forward to lots more messy, muddy play

In the meantime

To keep our hands in

And to try something new

We are going to be tackling

Appliances Online’s Month of Messy Play

They have set a challenge for families

To complete 30 play activities together

The messier the better

After discovering that

41% of parents have discouraged messy play for reasons including germs and avoiding extra housework

30% of parents worry that their children do not spend enough time playing outside

Appliances Online want to help families get outside

And get their hands dirty through messy play

And we think it is a brilliant idea!

You can read more about the research from AO here

And join in the 30 days of messy fun here

mud stars

This is a collaborative post

One thought on “Messy Play: Getting Your Hands Dirty

  1. Hi Edspire,

    We recently wrote a blog post about dirt and hygiene, but that was more related to the World Health Organisation. You wrote this blog post almost like a poem… very interesting. We share your point of view, look forward to your other post. 🙂

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