Messy play, happy learning, Dainfern College’s Grade 0’s enjoy messy day
Dainfern College learners were treated to a messy day as part of their learning activities.
Laughter echoed, paint splattered, and memories were made as the Grade 0s at Dainfern College were treated to a delightfully messy adventure in a Let’s Get Messy Day.
This sensory extravaganza was a treasure trove of tangible experiences, creativity, and bonding as the little ones explored, discovered, and made memories to cherish forever.
Teacher Laurian Duffield said this child-led learning, sensory exploration and the joy of seeing children fully engaged in hands on experiences was the inspiration behind the day.
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Duffield added the goal was to encourage creativity, problem-solving and fine motor development in a fun way.
“We chose to involve our parents to help them understand the important benefits of messy play and encouraged them to get involved with their children throughout the morning.”
Duffield believes that observing children during messy play can reveal a lot about their learning.
“One can look for sensory exploration and engagement. Are they touching, smelling and interacting with different textures? Do they show curiosity and excitement while exploring materials?
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“Messy play was a shared experience which created special lifetime memories between parent and child. It encouraged deeper connections and engagement, trust and confidence as well as mindfulness and presence. One could build on this event going forward by making it a regular event. We could encourage home engagement and even expand on activities.”
Duffield said they incorporated messy play daily into the school’s activities and programmes such as letter tracing – writing letters in salt trays, sand, paint, rice or foam.
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Also storytelling with messy play by creating scenes with play dough, foam or mud. Other activities include sensory word building, counting and sorting, number writing, measurement, patterns and shape as well as simple addition and subtraction equations.
She advised parents who wished to try this at home. “Embrace the mess, set up a mess-friendly space, encourage exploration, connect play to learning, and make it routine.”
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