Shortly after Matilda Mae died
My friend Lucy came to visit
With her baby boy
Samuel
Born just days after Tilda
And her only real friend
When they came
We had our Tuff Spot out
And in it we had jelly
And plastic snakes
It was a really simple but successful messy play
That worked for Baby Samuel
And my teeny tiny two year olds too
I bought some really small, soft and brightly coloured snakes from Amazon. They were very light and so floated in the jelly. I also added some heavier, duller, rubber snakes that sank to the bottom of the jelly slime.
To make the slime I used lime and orange jelly. I did not add any glitter or inedible ingredients as I knew that at least a little of the jelly would end up in Baby Samuel’s tummy.
And I was right! He really liked eating it. Which made me smile with a heavy heart, as I know that Baby Tilda would have been exactly the same. They would have had such fun together today.
Esther and William were very excited about playing with jelly. And they literally squealed with excitement when they saw the snakes suspended inside. They could not wait to set the snakes free.
They plunged their hands straight into the cold jelly and pulled the wriggly, sticky snakes out.
It was wonderful to watch and also to see the shapes left in the jelly by the snakes. The hollows or imprints made it look like there might be another snake still lurking inside. i think this fascinated me more than it did the twins. They just loved smashing the jellies and finding the snakes.
Esther and William adore sensory play, the messier the better. Today they loved getting the jelly inbetween their fingers and their toes. They like it when their play material is scented and all the better if it is edible too! Today the jelly was sticky but also slippery. Seeing Samuel try to stand on the jelly covered Tuff Spot was wonderful and so so funny. I was laughing at Samuel and also fondly thinking of Matilda’s laugh as I know her infectious giggle would have been sounding out loud as she sat and covered herself in jelly and enjoyed trying to stand on the slippery stuff. She would have had a wonderful time, just as Samuel did today. As we all did.
The snakes in the jelly were a great addition to this play. Esther and William had as much fun with the snakes as they did with the jelly. They were stretching them and pinging them around. Wrapping them around different body parts. Pushing them into the jelly and pulling them out again. The bright colourful snakes were definitely a hit and will definitely feature in our play again soon.
Pulling snakes out of jelly is not only great fun it develops fine motor skills but putting jelly in a Tuff Spot also provides opportunities to use gross motor skills as you have to try very hard to balance and stay standing and not fall over. It is also possible to almost skate and slide around the Tuff Spot. All three children found this experience and sensation very funny. It was genuinely hilarious to watch.
Esther and William really seemed to like having Baby Samuel in the Tuff Spot with them which is lovely as his mummy is a dear friend but also makes me miss Tilda so much as it really should be her in there with her siblings. What a fabulous friendship they would have. What magical memories they would be making. We would be making. Together.
Because of this very special play date
I knew that when it was time to introduce Edie
To messy play
It would be with jelly
I was delighted to find some sparkly pink jelly
To which I added some Happyland fairies
(Don’t worry a snake swamp is coming up next!)
I made up the jelly
In a small bowl to begin with
And let Edie explore
She was quite unsure at first
She looked utterly delighted
But hesitated
As though she could not believe this was for her
She examined the fairies closely first
Before dipping her fingers into the jelly
First she dipped
Then she plunged
And then she was ready to play
Edie used all her senses playing with the jelly
She felt the jelly with her hands
And once the jelly was poured into the tuff spot
She felt the jelly on her legs and feet too
She was completely covered by the end of her play
Edie listened to the sounds of the jelly
As it dripped through her fingers
And squelched in her hands
Edie tasted the jelly
This ooey gooey icky sticky play stuff
Is, of course, food
Edie had a wonderful time
Playing alone and with her siblings
It was very funny watching her
Slipping and sliding around the tuff spot
Soaking up the jelly
It was wonderful watching her explore the jelly with all her senses
“ In order to grow and learn, the human brain needs to be stimulated by sensory experiences that take place within a rich and varied environment … a child needs to see, touch, hear, taste and smell, to play, explore and experiment … ” Vea Vecchi (1998) Reggio Children
Regular readers of Edspire will know
That we adore messy play
The messier the better
It is something we have encouraged at home
With all our children
From a very early age
It is something we do in memory of Tilda
Our Messy Play for Matilda Mae
Messy and sensory play is fun
It is also creative and calming
Engaging and immersive
It can take little minds off bigger things
We often use our tuff spot
When we are in a tough spot
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
For babies
It is all about exploration
Using their senses to make sense of a new experience
Helping them to piece together their world
Play is the work of a child
And is so valuable from birth
Sensory play
Messy play
Active play
Indoor
Outdoor
It is all so important
In helping our babies learn
And develop
Strengthening our bonds
As we play together
There is nothing I love more
Than joining my children in their play
The messier the better
We have lots more messy play coming up on the blog
For babies, toddlers and beyond
We hope that we might inspire you to come and play too
Here are some more pictures of Edie
Our busy baby
Happy in her play
Do please let us know
If you give this a try x