Enabling Environments: Messy Play for Under-threes - Bathtime fun

Offering a bath time in the nursery provides babies with an experience that is not only familiar and comforting but rich in opportunities for sensory exploration.

ORGANISATION

• - Use bathtime accessories intended for home use.
• - Place the bath on a non-slip washable surface on the floor.
• - Hold the youngest babies in the bath, or use one of the many bath support products that allow adults to have their hands free. Older babies and toddlers can sit on the floor alongside the bath.
• - Make sure that the water is the correct temperature.
• - Have plenty of large towels to hand.
• - Limit the number of objects you present at any one time. Start with a single item, then move on to two contrasting ones.
• - Wash and dry the resources after use.

RESOURCES

Provide a range of resources such as:

• - Natural and synthetic sponges. Natural sponges come in different textures, ranging from rough raw sponges to soft cosmetic facial sponges. Synthetic sponges can be bought in different colours, shapes and textures. Try to have a variety available - for example, an extra soft triangular sponge and a brightly coloured fish-shaped sponge.
• - Cotton and muslin flannels. Offer a variety cotton flannels - plain, coloured, patterned, with borders and with images on them. Muslin washcloths feel much softer than cotton ones and so offer a quite different sensory experience.
• - Bath and shower puffs. These open-weave sponges are designed to distribute soap products rather than absorb water.
• - Bath mitts. Provide a variety of bath mitts, which vary from simple absorbent rectangles to animal cutouts, such as hippos. Use a mitt to stroke and pat the baby, and squeeze it so that it forms trickles of water along the baby's arm. Make small versions from towelling so that babies can create their own sensations as they tap, pat and squeeze.
• - Bath puppets. Finger and hand puppets in a wide variety of designs are available. Make the puppet 'talk' to the baby as you interact. Create smaller versions for babies to wear -for example, a mother duck and baby made from yellow towelling.

ADULT ROLE

• - While using the resources with the very youngest babies, who are still unable to hold on to things, be sure to introduce lots of touching and feeling, and opportunities to look and listen. For example, pick up a natural sponge with large holes, saying, 'Look, Adam, holes, lots of holes!' Hold the baby's hand and touch the holes with it.
• - Once a baby can reach out and grip an object, observe their explorations. For example, if a baby picks up an item and watches water flow from it, model this yourself but then extend the movement, perhaps by squeezing the object with two hands so that more water is released.
• - As you play alongside the baby, repeat words that describe both your actions - for example, 'squeeze, squeeze, squeeze' - and their sounds, such as 'drip, drip, drip'.

WHAT NEXT?

• - Move on from exploring absorbency to developing hand-eye co-ordination. Babies love to stretch out for things, so stick bath splats on the side of the bath and shapes on the bottom. Attach attractive toys with suction pads to the side of the bath or float brightly coloured items on the surface.
• - Introduce less absorbent items with coarser textures to toddlers, such as exfoliating sisal bath mitts, loofahs, loofah mitts and pumice stones, or provide a selection of new cleaning sponges and scrubbing pads to pretend to clean the bath after it is emptied.