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Messy play can be a tricky type of play for several reasons. First of all, not all kids like messy play, and that’s ok. My youngest has always been getting messy and just throwing herself into whatever activity is put in front of her, but my eldest was a completely different story. It’s only natural to worry and think that children should naturally love getting messy without a care in the world, but the truth is not all kids do. The same can be said for parents. Some parents are entirely relaxed about play getting a little chaotic and don’t mind the clear up after; others just don’t enjoy the experience. There is no right or wrong here; there is simply opportunity. Opportunity to play, opportunity to learn, and opportunity to grow. However, those things will only happen if both child and parent feel comfortable and confident. I wanted to share an example of how you can set up a ‘messy play’ activity, but in a way that allows you as a parent, and your child as an individual, to decide how messy the situation gets.
Food coloring (optional - if it makes you nervous about too much mess and stress, try it without coloring the first time round)
Glitter (as above, only use it if you feel comfortable with it)
Plastic Easter eggs
Muffin tin
Plastic bowls
Spoons and stirring sticks
Tray or container to help contain the mess
Have a towel on hand just in case
Let’s Get Set Up
The way you set up activities has a significant impact on how your child chooses to engage with the materials. I always try to make a setup that naturally creates a sense of intrigue for my child. For this reason, I put all of the materials on our large mat and chose not to squirt out any of the shaving creams yet. Allowing time for my four-year-old to touch all of the materials and talk about what she’d like to make with them immediately gives her a sense of ownership over her play and learning. She is deciding how to enjoy the play rather than following my idea of what the play should look like. Honestly, kids often have way better ideas anyway!
How Shall We Play?
Once my preschooler had looked at all the materials, and we’d talked about their names, she told me that she wanted to squirt out the shaving cream and make it colorful. Here’s the main reason I waited to open the shaving cream… for her, getting to squirt the can by herself was super exciting and instantly made her more engaged and hands-on. Then she added the color drops and mixed it in all by herself. She still hadn’t touched the shaving cream, and I was in no rush to make her test it out.
The Importance of Tools
I am always very intentional about supplying tools with a messy play setup. When my son was a preschooler, he would avoid touching sensory materials too much, so I was always sure to provide tools. This helped him get comfortable with the feel of the materials first, and then he would eventually be more hands-on with them. The decision was his, and that was important to me. I always feel that forcing a child into messy play doesn’t do anyone any favors and can deter future involvement.
What’s Next?
After making the colored shaving cream, she started an experiment using fine motor tools to transfer the shaving cream into the plastic eggs and the water. She called her creations ‘sparkly egg cupcakes’ and took great pleasure in adding glitter to each one as the sprinkles. If the word glitter makes you shudder, don’t panic. I always say to fellow parents that if you aren’t comfortable with the material, don’t use it. Instead of glitter, use pom-poms or beads. They will be just as much fun!
Getting Messier…
You can see from the photos that as the play progressed, things got messier and messier. As I mentioned earlier, though, this was all based on my preschooler’s play decisions, not my pressured directions. She is always at her most creative when the play is open-ended and hands-on. She made another batch of colored shaving cream, washing her tools with the Twisty Dropper™ and scooping away with the Handy Scoopers™. Shaving cream and water is a great sensory base combination because if your child is a little hesitant of the shaving cream on their skin, they can wash it straight off in the water. Have a towel ready to dry off, and then the play can resume there and then.
Follow the Child’s Lead
My final tip is always to follow your child’s lead when it comes to playing length. I know how frustrating it can be when you set something up, and after 5 or 10 minutes, your child announces they are ‘all done’ and trots off to the toy room. Please don’t view this as a failure. It’s a win, a small win maybe, but still a win. They showed enough interest to engage, and I bet that they will likely engage for longer next time. Try to reflect on what they did for those 5 or 10 minutes and focus on your setup next time.
I hope you have found some of these tips helpful. Try to remember that messy play can be an acquired taste for parents and children alike. You can use the way you set things up to help support your child’s needs in a way that will encourage them to engage within their comfort level, and that will also keep the activity within your mess tolerance level. Happy playing!
Messy play can be a tricky type of play for several reasons. First of all, not all kids like messy play, and that’s ok. My youngest has always been getting messy and just throwing herself into whatever activity is put in front of her, but my eldest was a completely different story. It’s only natural to worry and think that children should naturally love getting messy without a care in the world, but the truth is not all kids do. The same can be said for parents. Some parents are entirely relaxed about play getting a little chaotic and don’t mind the clear up after; others just don’t enjoy the experience. There is no right or wrong here; there is simply opportunity. Opportunity to play, opportunity to learn, and opportunity to grow. However, those things will only happen if both child and parent feel comfortable and confident. I wanted to share an example of how you can set up a ‘messy play’ activity, but in a way that allows you as a parent, and your child as an individual, to decide how messy the situation gets.
Food coloring (optional - if it makes you nervous about too much mess and stress, try it without coloring the first time round)
Glitter (as above, only use it if you feel comfortable with it)
Plastic Easter eggs
Muffin tin
Plastic bowls
Spoons and stirring sticks
Tray or container to help contain the mess
Have a towel on hand just in case
Let’s Get Set Up
The way you set up activities has a significant impact on how your child chooses to engage with the materials. I always try to make a setup that naturally creates a sense of intrigue for my child. For this reason, I put all of the materials on our large mat and chose not to squirt out any of the shaving creams yet. Allowing time for my four-year-old to touch all of the materials and talk about what she’d like to make with them immediately gives her a sense of ownership over her play and learning. She is deciding how to enjoy the play rather than following my idea of what the play should look like. Honestly, kids often have way better ideas anyway!
How Shall We Play?
Once my preschooler had looked at all the materials, and we’d talked about their names, she told me that she wanted to squirt out the shaving cream and make it colorful. Here’s the main reason I waited to open the shaving cream… for her, getting to squirt the can by herself was super exciting and instantly made her more engaged and hands-on. Then she added the color drops and mixed it in all by herself. She still hadn’t touched the shaving cream, and I was in no rush to make her test it out.
The Importance of Tools
I am always very intentional about supplying tools with a messy play setup. When my son was a preschooler, he would avoid touching sensory materials too much, so I was always sure to provide tools. This helped him get comfortable with the feel of the materials first, and then he would eventually be more hands-on with them. The decision was his, and that was important to me. I always feel that forcing a child into messy play doesn’t do anyone any favors and can deter future involvement.
What’s Next?
After making the colored shaving cream, she started an experiment using fine motor tools to transfer the shaving cream into the plastic eggs and the water. She called her creations ‘sparkly egg cupcakes’ and took great pleasure in adding glitter to each one as the sprinkles. If the word glitter makes you shudder, don’t panic. I always say to fellow parents that if you aren’t comfortable with the material, don’t use it. Instead of glitter, use pom-poms or beads. They will be just as much fun!
Getting Messier…
You can see from the photos that as the play progressed, things got messier and messier. As I mentioned earlier, though, this was all based on my preschooler’s play decisions, not my pressured directions. She is always at her most creative when the play is open-ended and hands-on. She made another batch of colored shaving cream, washing her tools with the Twisty Dropper™ and scooping away with the Handy Scoopers™. Shaving cream and water is a great sensory base combination because if your child is a little hesitant of the shaving cream on their skin, they can wash it straight off in the water. Have a towel ready to dry off, and then the play can resume there and then.
Follow the Child’s Lead
My final tip is always to follow your child’s lead when it comes to playing length. I know how frustrating it can be when you set something up, and after 5 or 10 minutes, your child announces they are ‘all done’ and trots off to the toy room. Please don’t view this as a failure. It’s a win, a small win maybe, but still a win. They showed enough interest to engage, and I bet that they will likely engage for longer next time. Try to reflect on what they did for those 5 or 10 minutes and focus on your setup next time.
I hope you have found some of these tips helpful. Try to remember that messy play can be an acquired taste for parents and children alike. You can use the way you set things up to help support your child’s needs in a way that will encourage them to engage within their comfort level, and that will also keep the activity within your mess tolerance level. Happy playing!
February is Black History Month, an opportunity to learn, reflect and pay tribute. While we intentionally read books with diverse representation and introduce our toddler to historical and contemporary examples of Black leaders and innovators throughout the entire year, this month presents an important opportunity to recognize and discuss some incredible individuals and historical events with our young learners, as many educators, organizations, and museums are sharing helpful resources in February.
Looking to acknowledge history, encourage curiosity, and celebrate Black joy and excellence with your little learner? From photographer Gordon Parks to athlete Wilma Rudolph, pilot Bessie Coleman to activist Fannie Lou Hamer, there are countless examples of bold creatives and inspiring changemakers to explore and honor. One of our favorites, and the inspiration for this space-themed play and learning setup, is Dr. Mae C. Jemison.
Materials we used:
Children’s books about Dr. Mae Jemison (examples below)
Children’s books about planets or space (optional)
To educate ourselves on Dr. Jemison’s many ambitions and accomplishments, we dove into books like Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed (picture book), Dream Big, Little One and Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison (board and picture book versions), and You Should Meet Mae Jemison by Laurie Calkhoven (Ready-To-Read/Early Reader). (Admittedly, some of the content is over our two-year-old’s head, but our goal is exposure and developing a love of learning and reading, so even if we only explore a page or two at a time, it’s still time well-spent!) We then reviewed some of the facts we learned while reading -- an excellent opportunity to expose our little learner to some rich STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) vocabulary. For instance:
Mae Jemison is a doctor, scientist, engineer, teacher and dancer.
Mae Jemison joined the PeaceCorps and has traveled to many countries.
Mae Jemison is fluent in several languages, including Swahili, Russian and Japanese.
Mae Jemison was a NASA astronaut and the first African American woman to travel into space.
Mae Jemison served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. She spent more than a week orbiting Earth, completing scientific investigations while on board.
Our toddler is very interested in all things star, moon, and space-related, so these latter facts about Dr. Jemison led us to create some astronaut-themed activities to engage both her body and mind!
Enter Learning Resources’ Primary Science Leap & Launch Rocket -- a literal blast and a visual tool for discussing how Dr. Jemison launched into space on the shuttle Endeavour! This product comes with a launch pad, adjustable launcher, two rockets, and two target mats with sun and moon images (so future rocket scientists can strategize and attempt to aim the rocket towards a specific landing location).
When jumping or stomping on the air pocket launch pad, you or your child give the rocket power to fly across your yard or play space. By angling the rocket launcher, you can change where and how far the soft rocket will travel -- great for critical thinking and problem-solving fun. Build anticipation and foster those early math skills by counting backwards until stomping on the launch pad’s dome for liftoff! Our toddler gleefully asked us to launch the rocket again and again, engaging her gross motor skills by chasing after it each flight to retrieve it for it’s next mission into space.
To complement this amazing imaginative and gross motor play, we set up a small, space-themed sensory bin inspired by young Mae Jemison’s dreams to be a scientist and reach for the stars. Using uncooked black beans and glass beads as our solar system base, we then added manipulatives like star-shaped stacking cups and scooping tools from Learning Resources’ Helping Hands Fine Motor Tool Set. This simple setup is an open invitation for our toddler scientist to examine, explore, compare and count her ‘stardust’ and ‘moon rocks’ to her heart’s content, all while building strong finger and hand muscles for important tasks like writing and cutting in future years.
Bonus: a rocket and sensory bin setup like this lends itself to ongoing play, so don’t pack it away after one encounter! Our toddler returned to her Launch Rocket and space bin multiple times throughout the week. All that repetition meant lots of opportunities for problem-solving, trial and error, and trying out all the new, rich vocabulary we had been discussing. In future play sessions, we returned to our Mae Jemison biographies, as well as other board and picture books about space, like Future Astronaut by Lori Alexander, Solar System by Jill McDonald, and 8 Little Planets by Chris Ferrie.
Looking to adapt or extend your play and learning even further?
Honor Black history and celebrate other Black changemakers by exploring and discussing picture books like The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson, Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews and Bryan Collier, and Freedom Over Me by Ashley Bryan -- all of which are written and illustrated by incredible Black creators.
Looking for fiction featuring Black main characters? Check out some of our recent picture book favorites: Jabari Tries (sequel to Jabari Jumps) by Gaia Cornwall, Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love and Your Name Is A Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow. Your local library will have many more title recommendations!
February is Black History Month, an opportunity to learn, reflect and pay tribute. While we intentionally read books with diverse representation and introduce our toddler to historical and contemporary examples of Black leaders and innovators throughout the entire year, this month presents an important opportunity to recognize and discuss some incredible individuals and historical events with our young learners, as many educators, organizations, and museums are sharing helpful resources in February.
Looking to acknowledge history, encourage curiosity, and celebrate Black joy and excellence with your little learner? From photographer Gordon Parks to athlete Wilma Rudolph, pilot Bessie Coleman to activist Fannie Lou Hamer, there are countless examples of bold creatives and inspiring changemakers to explore and honor. One of our favorites, and the inspiration for this space-themed play and learning setup, is Dr. Mae C. Jemison.
Materials we used:
Children’s books about Dr. Mae Jemison (examples below)
Children’s books about planets or space (optional)
To educate ourselves on Dr. Jemison’s many ambitions and accomplishments, we dove into books like Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed (picture book), Dream Big, Little One and Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison (board and picture book versions), and You Should Meet Mae Jemison by Laurie Calkhoven (Ready-To-Read/Early Reader). (Admittedly, some of the content is over our two-year-old’s head, but our goal is exposure and developing a love of learning and reading, so even if we only explore a page or two at a time, it’s still time well-spent!) We then reviewed some of the facts we learned while reading -- an excellent opportunity to expose our little learner to some rich STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) vocabulary. For instance:
Mae Jemison is a doctor, scientist, engineer, teacher and dancer.
Mae Jemison joined the PeaceCorps and has traveled to many countries.
Mae Jemison is fluent in several languages, including Swahili, Russian and Japanese.
Mae Jemison was a NASA astronaut and the first African American woman to travel into space.
Mae Jemison served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. She spent more than a week orbiting Earth, completing scientific investigations while on board.
Our toddler is very interested in all things star, moon, and space-related, so these latter facts about Dr. Jemison led us to create some astronaut-themed activities to engage both her body and mind!
Enter Learning Resources’ Primary Science Leap & Launch Rocket -- a literal blast and a visual tool for discussing how Dr. Jemison launched into space on the shuttle Endeavour! This product comes with a launch pad, adjustable launcher, two rockets, and two target mats with sun and moon images (so future rocket scientists can strategize and attempt to aim the rocket towards a specific landing location).
When jumping or stomping on the air pocket launch pad, you or your child give the rocket power to fly across your yard or play space. By angling the rocket launcher, you can change where and how far the soft rocket will travel -- great for critical thinking and problem-solving fun. Build anticipation and foster those early math skills by counting backwards until stomping on the launch pad’s dome for liftoff! Our toddler gleefully asked us to launch the rocket again and again, engaging her gross motor skills by chasing after it each flight to retrieve it for it’s next mission into space.
To complement this amazing imaginative and gross motor play, we set up a small, space-themed sensory bin inspired by young Mae Jemison’s dreams to be a scientist and reach for the stars. Using uncooked black beans and glass beads as our solar system base, we then added manipulatives like star-shaped stacking cups and scooping tools from Learning Resources’ Helping Hands Fine Motor Tool Set. This simple setup is an open invitation for our toddler scientist to examine, explore, compare and count her ‘stardust’ and ‘moon rocks’ to her heart’s content, all while building strong finger and hand muscles for important tasks like writing and cutting in future years.
Bonus: a rocket and sensory bin setup like this lends itself to ongoing play, so don’t pack it away after one encounter! Our toddler returned to her Launch Rocket and space bin multiple times throughout the week. All that repetition meant lots of opportunities for problem-solving, trial and error, and trying out all the new, rich vocabulary we had been discussing. In future play sessions, we returned to our Mae Jemison biographies, as well as other board and picture books about space, like Future Astronaut by Lori Alexander, Solar System by Jill McDonald, and 8 Little Planets by Chris Ferrie.
Looking to adapt or extend your play and learning even further?
Honor Black history and celebrate other Black changemakers by exploring and discussing picture books like The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson, Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews and Bryan Collier, and Freedom Over Me by Ashley Bryan -- all of which are written and illustrated by incredible Black creators.
Looking for fiction featuring Black main characters? Check out some of our recent picture book favorites: Jabari Tries (sequel to Jabari Jumps) by Gaia Cornwall, Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love and Your Name Is A Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow. Your local library will have many more title recommendations!
October 29 is National Cat Day – a day to celebrate our furry, purry, feline friends. Whether you’re fur-tunate enough to have your own kitty cuties at home or your kids just love these itty-bitty fur buckets from afar, we’ve sharing four fun ways to celebrate the day, including:
Making a Purr-ty Paper Plate Cat
Create your own (flat) cat using a paper plate, acrylic paints in cat colors, construction paper, glue, and yarn!
Start by showing your little cat lover some pictures of different kinds of kitties online. Then set out some kitty-colored paints, flip a paper plate upside down, and have your kiddo paint the entire back side of the plate in kitty colors.
Next, trim the ridges off two opposing sides of the plate and take a notch out of the top - but don’t toss the scraps! You’ll trim one of the side pieces into a set of kitty paws and the other into your tail.
Using markers or cut-out construction paper pieces, let your little one add facial details including eyes, nose, and mouth.
Use glue to attach the paws, tail, and whiskers to your kitty cat’s face and voila! Flat paper plate cat!
Creating a Parts & Pieces Kitty Collage
Save your junk mail and catalogs and get crafty with this cool collage project! You’ll also need a few sheets of black construction paper, scissors, and a stick of glue.
Start by cutting out some kitty cat shapes for your kids – tear drops for cat bodies, oval heads, curved triangles for ears, long tails, diamond-shaped eyes, triangle noses, half-moon paws, and strips for whiskers and claws.
Set the pieces out and let your kids get creative, gluing pieces down to pose their collage cats in all kinds of kitty contortions.
Crafting a Kitty Cat Analog Clock
There’s always time to cuddle a kitty! Learning to tell time is much more fun with a kitty cat clock your kids make themselves. You’ll need two paper plates, construction paper, glue, a ruler, and an old school brad.
Start by having your kids paint two paper plates, right side up, in a single kitty color like orange or grey.
Once your plates are dry, give your kids a marker and have them add facial details including whiskers and a mouth and use construction paper to create and glue cat eyes, ears, and a nose.
On the other plate, use your ruler and markers to carefully place long lines at each hour mark and four shorter minute marks between each.
Create a ¾” circular template, then challenge your kiddo to trace and cut 11 more circles out of construction paper. Add numbers 1-12 and show your child where to glue them in place on your clock face.
Cut two arrows out of construction paper – one longer than the other – and use the brad to secure them to the center of your clock face.
Staple your kitty cat head to its clock face body. Meow it’s time to practice!
Completing a Kitty Care Coding Challenge
With Learning Resources Coding Critters™ Scamper & Sneaker, your kids can learn to care for a cat without having to own one! Plus, even preschoolers can learn basic coding skills with these playful pets.
First, read through the included storybook adventure, coding the activities shown on each page.
Code Scamper to come out of her house and chase her ball or send Sneaker for a ride down the slide.
Then press Scamper’s nose to active Play Mode where kids can feed, pet, and care for their robotic kitten.
October 29 is National Cat Day – a day to celebrate our furry, purry, feline friends. Whether you’re fur-tunate enough to have your own kitty cuties at home or your kids just love these itty-bitty fur buckets from afar, we’ve sharing four fun ways to celebrate the day, including:
Making a Purr-ty Paper Plate Cat
Create your own (flat) cat using a paper plate, acrylic paints in cat colors, construction paper, glue, and yarn!
Start by showing your little cat lover some pictures of different kinds of kitties online. Then set out some kitty-colored paints, flip a paper plate upside down, and have your kiddo paint the entire back side of the plate in kitty colors.
Next, trim the ridges off two opposing sides of the plate and take a notch out of the top - but don’t toss the scraps! You’ll trim one of the side pieces into a set of kitty paws and the other into your tail.
Using markers or cut-out construction paper pieces, let your little one add facial details including eyes, nose, and mouth.
Use glue to attach the paws, tail, and whiskers to your kitty cat’s face and voila! Flat paper plate cat!
Creating a Parts & Pieces Kitty Collage
Save your junk mail and catalogs and get crafty with this cool collage project! You’ll also need a few sheets of black construction paper, scissors, and a stick of glue.
Start by cutting out some kitty cat shapes for your kids – tear drops for cat bodies, oval heads, curved triangles for ears, long tails, diamond-shaped eyes, triangle noses, half-moon paws, and strips for whiskers and claws.
Set the pieces out and let your kids get creative, gluing pieces down to pose their collage cats in all kinds of kitty contortions.
Crafting a Kitty Cat Analog Clock
There’s always time to cuddle a kitty! Learning to tell time is much more fun with a kitty cat clock your kids make themselves. You’ll need two paper plates, construction paper, glue, a ruler, and an old school brad.
Start by having your kids paint two paper plates, right side up, in a single kitty color like orange or grey.
Once your plates are dry, give your kids a marker and have them add facial details including whiskers and a mouth and use construction paper to create and glue cat eyes, ears, and a nose.
On the other plate, use your ruler and markers to carefully place long lines at each hour mark and four shorter minute marks between each.
Create a ¾” circular template, then challenge your kiddo to trace and cut 11 more circles out of construction paper. Add numbers 1-12 and show your child where to glue them in place on your clock face.
Cut two arrows out of construction paper – one longer than the other – and use the brad to secure them to the center of your clock face.
Staple your kitty cat head to its clock face body. Meow it’s time to practice!
Completing a Kitty Care Coding Challenge
With Learning Resources Coding Critters™ Scamper & Sneaker, your kids can learn to care for a cat without having to own one! Plus, even preschoolers can learn basic coding skills with these playful pets.
First, read through the included storybook adventure, coding the activities shown on each page.
Code Scamper to come out of her house and chase her ball or send Sneaker for a ride down the slide.
Then press Scamper’s nose to active Play Mode where kids can feed, pet, and care for their robotic kitten.
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