5 Messy Play Ideas to Keep Your Little Ones Amused this Spring Break | ExpatWoman.com
 

5 Messy Play Ideas to Keep Your Little Ones Amused this Spring Break

Encouraging your child to get messy is many parents’ idea of a nightmare, but did you know that messy, or sensory play, has a huge part to play in a child’s development.

Posted on

14 March 2018

Last updated on 15 March 2018
5 Messy Play Ideas to Keep Your Little Ones Amused this Spring Break

Research by the University of Iowa has shown that by helping your child to explore and experiment with different materials, you’re encouraging them to make their own discoveries and improve their language skills using their senses, curiosity and knowledge.

With spring break approaching and the weather still perfect for fun in the garden, there’s no better time to get outside and get messy! We caught up with Julie Cranshaw, Assistant Head, Early Years, at Jumeira Baccalaureate School , a Taaleem school, to find out her top sensory play activities.

1. Slime and Playdough

I’m yet to meet a child who doesn’t love slime and playdough! Poking, rolling and squishing playdough or slime encourages children to use their imagination and strengthen muscles in their hands and fingers which is useful for that all-important pencil grip.

Just ten minutes playing with playdough with your child and encouraging them to talk about what they’re making will also help them to hone crucial social skills including sharing, taking turns, comparing and contrasting objects, whilst the process of making DIY slime can be just as fun as slime itself! There are some great pointers here for playing with playdough and here for making slime.

5 Messy Play Ideas to Keep Your Little Ones Amused this Spring Break

2. Create a Pouring Station

For little ones who are just learning and starting to hone their hand-eye coordination skills, there’s nothing more satisfying than a pouring station. Even better for parents, it takes minutes to set up and requires just a few things that you can find easily around the home.

Simply fill a big plastic tub with water in the garden and fill it with a variety of different size containers – we’re talking plastic jugs, bottles and cups. Add a little bit of water to each of the containers, and maybe a dash of food colouring too. Little explorers will love transferring water from one container to another and watching the colour of the water change as they mix together.

SEE ALSO: Discover Jumeira Baccalaureate School, a Taaleem School in Dubai

3. The Ice Breaker Challenge

This one is great for the hot days which we’re not strangers to in Dubai. Take a selection of small plastic toys (you could add anything you like – lego, dinosaurs or plastic animals), put them in a plastic (freezable) bowl, fill the bowl with water and pop it in the freezer overnight.

In the morning, take the bowl out of the freezer and into the garden and encourage your child to use a metal spoon and some plastic cutlery to set their toys loose! This is a great activity to encourage team work, problem solving and discover key science fundamentals.

5 Messy Play Ideas to Keep Your Little Ones Amused this Spring Break

4. Bath Painting

There’s never been a better place to encourage your children to get messy than the bath! Many children love painting and what better way for them to discover different surfaces and textures than by making fully-washable bath paint.

It’s cost effective and super easy – simply mix ¼ cup of shampoo with ¼ cup of cornstarch and three to four drops of food coloring. Add the water ½ a tablespoon at a time until the mixture is thick enough to stick to a paintbrush, then let your children loose to paint the walls, the bath and themselves.

SEE ALSO: 5 Ways that Exercise Helps Kids to Concentrate at Schools in Dubai

5. Bubbles, Bubbles and Bubbles

Oh bubbles, the way to every child’s heart – but have they ever made their own bubble wands and bubble mixture? Simply use pipe cleaners, baby shampoo, corn syrup and water. Help your child to form a shape at one end of the pipe cleaner, leaving a little bit extra to wrap around the body of the pipe cleaner to keep the shape. Then mix one cup of baby shampoo with one cup of corn syrup and three cups of water. Cue hours of fun in the garden!

Little ones aged 2-4 and their parents will have the opportunity to enjoy a taste of life at Jumeira Baccalaureate School on Wednesday 21st March from 2-4pm with an afternoon of arts, crafts and messy play led by their experienced early years team. Let us do the cleaning up! Registration is essential: email [email protected] with your child’s name and date of birth.

5 Messy Play Ideas to Keep Your Little Ones Amused this Spring Break
 
 

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