When organising messy play for very young children, practitioners should think carefully about the sorts of materials offered (see Safety, p18) and how the provision reflects children's interests.
Water is always a favourite and bath times offer an ideal time for babies to explore water, so leave time to play as well as wash. Meal times are another opportunity for messy play, so allow children to explore with their hands as well as their mouths.
Accessibility is important and, as with most activities, messy play for the youngest children should be at their level on or near the floor. Water is much easier to explore when it is in trays on the floor and offers the opportunity to explore without wobbling. Sand is more accessible spread on a large thick plastic sheet, such as a pond liner, with a boundary of blocks to keep it in place.
Children at this age cannot make their preferences known through words so observe the children carefully to decide how long a session should be.
Sometimes they will be engrossed for 20 minutes while on other days they will want to end much earlier.
As children get more mobile they like to transport materials and mix them together. We can either spend our time trying to get them to stop or organise the room to support this interest. For example, place sand and water trays near to each other to allow for easy mixing and show the children how to use the dust pan and brush.
As children become more independent they will start to use the taps - an endless source of fun and learning. Again leave time for the children to play with the water as well as wash their hands when they use the bathroom.
Paint can be explored with the whole body and fingers are much easier for children to manipulate than brushes.
Build plenty of opportunities for messy play into the daily provision to reflect the children's growing interest in this sort of play. Here are some of the links between messy play and the different aspects and components in the Birth to Three Matters framework.
A strong child
* Me, Myself and I
Includes the realisation of the child's own individuality and recognising personal characteristics and preferences and finding out what they can do.
As messy play is an open-ended experience, it offers the child the chance to make their own choices and reach their own conclusions. It enables them to discover their individual preferences and find out what they can do.
* Being acknowledged and affirmed
Includes needing recognition, acceptance and comfort, being able to contribute to secure relationships and understanding that they can be valued and are important to someone.
A shared messy experience provides a secure context in which to build relationships as each child is free to explore in their own way, and their discoveries are valued by those around them as important. The tactile aspect of messy play is reassuring to babies and young children.
* Developing self-assurance
Involves becoming able to trust and rely on their own abilities, becoming confident in what they can do, valuing, feeling self-assured and supported.
The opportunity to explore materials freely and find out what they can be used for leads to a sense of mastery which, in turn, encourages self-assurance.
* A sense of belonging
Involves acquiring social confidence and competence and enjoying being with familiar and trusted others, having a role and identity within a group.
Taking part in experiences such as exploring paint, cornflower or glue in a group gives children shared experiences, which helps develop a sense of belonging.
A skilfulcommunicator
* Being together
Is about gaining attention and making contact and involves positive relationships, being with others and encouraging conversation.
Messy play offers the children a shared experience. Sharing experiences helps us to build positive relationships which, in turn, lead to conversation. For the very youngest children, these conversations will be pre-verbal.
* Finding a voice
Is about being a confident and competent language user and includes the impulse to communicate, exploring, experimenting, labelling and expressing, describing, questioning, representing and predicting and sharing thoughts, feelings and ideas.
Messy play offers the opportunity to do this in a context that is meaningful and enjoyable.
* Listening and responding
Involves listening and responding appropriately to others and includes listening and paying attention to what others say, making playful and serious responses, and learning about words and meanings.
Such interactions happen best in a purposeful context, and there are plenty of opportunities in messy play to introduce new words and respond to others.
* Making meaning
Involves understanding and being understood, influencing others, negotiating and making choices and understanding each other.
Messy play brings children together and offers meaningful opportunities to listen and respond to others. Through such play, children come to understand the importance of negotiating and understanding each other and realise that relating in this way is beneficial to all.
A competent learner
* Making connections
Is about connecting ideas and understanding the world through the senses and movement, becoming playfully engaged and involved, making patterns, comparing and categorising.
During messy play sessions children can link their existing ideas to new experiences, use all their senses to explore and are free to compare and categorise materials in their own way.
* Being imaginative
Is about responding to the world imaginatively and includes imitating, moving, imagining, exploring and re-enacting, playing imaginatively with materials, using all the senses, pretend play with gestures and actions, feelings, ideas and words.
Imitation is an important part of the learning process and during messy play children are free to observe the other children and the adults and mirror what they are doing. When children are familiar with the messy play materials they will often use them to support imaginative play such as pretending to cook.
* Being creative
Involves responding to the world creatively and is about exploring, discovering, experimenting with media and movement, developing competence and being resourceful.
During messy play sessions children are able to respond creatively. There is no right or wrong way to use the materials and the emphasis is on exploration and discovery.
* Representing
Is about responding to the world with marks and symbols, discovering that one thing can stand for another, creating and experimenting with one's own symbols and marks.
Messy play offers plenty of opportunity for mark making, for example, finger painting. Children develop their understanding of symbols when they pretend. For example, when they offer a yogurt pot to an adult and pretend it is a cup of tea.
A healthy child
* Emotional well-being
Involves emotional stability and resilience. It includes being able to express feelings, developing healthy dependence and developing healthy independence.
As messy play is open ended without an emphasis on an end product, children are able to use it in their own way to express their feelings. For example, pounding a lump of clay when frustrated, or the soothing feel of water through fingers when upset, helps the child to regain their emotional balance. Messy play fosters a child's ability to solve problems and to persist with challenges. It helps to develop in the child a sense of mastery or resilience, which is closely linked to well-being.
* Growing and developing
Is about physical well-being and includes being active, gaining control of the body and acquiring physical skills.
Messy play offers plenty of opportunities to acquire physical skills in a meaningful way.
* Keeping safe
Is about being safe and protected and includes discovering boundaries and limits, learning about rules, knowing when and how to ask for help, learning when to say no and anticipating what others will do.
Children learn to use materials and equipment safely as they play alongside a supportive adult and learn how to ask for help.
* Healthy choices
Is about being able to make choices and includes discovering and learning about their body, demonstrating individual preferences, making decisions and becoming aware of others and their needs.
The conversations that take place with children as they play with messy materials provide opportunities to talk about healthy choices and making decisions.
