Benefits of Messy Sensory Play

Sensory play can sometimes be messy, and most of the time the more messy, the more fun! And it is not just about fun, it has so many benefits.

What can be so benificial to getting dirty you may ask? Let me explain:

All children(and adults) have sensory needs: through our senses we make sense(excuse the pun) of the world around us. Children are more likely to get most visual stimulation(because of the age we live in and the way we use technology for entertainment). There is nothing wrong with using technology, but then it must be balanced out with other types of play: outdoor play, imagination play, construction play etc. All of these play types can happen when you provide sensory play opportunities for a child: playing outdoors in a sandpit, providing a bowl of beans(which can be pretend rocks the play truck must pick up), playing with blocks and playdough(building a house) etc.

According to research sensory play has the following benefits:
– Young children learn about their enviroment through sensory play
– Through sensory play neural connections are built in the brain that support learning, thinking and creativity
– Sensory play promotes skills like hand-eye coordinations, fine motor skills, language development, problem solving skills, cognitive skills, perception skills and social skills(playing together with friends).

This Infographic explains the benefits of sensory play beautifully:

Another graphic shows us how important it is to develop sensory awareness before you can expect a child to learn in a typical school enviroment:

So, to have messy play, is not just to make a mess(and to annoy adults), it has educational value. At our school we incorporate sensory play in our daily program through playing with different materials(under supervision of course) eg.
– dry rice, see this awesome book: Rice Play
– dry beans
– dry and cooked pasta
– shaving cream
– water
– ice
– mud
– playdough
– paper mush
– polystyrene
– cotton wool
– dry corn
– dry samp
– bird seed
And many more!

Your child will get dirty, clothes, nails, hair. But, luckily, your child, and the clothes are washable! We ask of our parents to dress their children in older clothes, as well as to understand that with the learning fun comes the messy kid!

The kids enjoy sensory play tremendously, they have fun(sometimes messy, sometimes not) while they are learning and that is what childhood is all about!

Read more on what expert bloggers has to say about Sensory Play too:
Two-daloo
Teach Preschool
The Imagination Tree
In the Playroom.

Do click ont the following links to read more on these related topics:
Our Sensory Processing Story
Understanding the Reason Behind Messy Kids
Loads of Sensory Activity Ideas.

And check out this awesome Sensory Toolkit to use at home, school and when traveling!

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