Activities for toddlers and pre-schoolers

More than one child? Playing at Little Mess Makers is as engaging for babies as it is for toddlers and preschoolers. The unstructured nature of our sensory play sessions allows children to adapt the play to suit their interests and level of development. At each age children will approach the play differently, making new discoveries and learning new skills. Below are examples of how children approach messy play at different ages.

Ages: 1 – 2

At this age children love to explore! They’re busy learning about the world around them, and are using their senses to make new discoveries every day.

Expect your child to enjoy feeling the paint squelching through their fingers, hiding their toes under the brightly coloured rice, and listening to the different sounds of the sensory materials falling on the trays.

Ages: 2 – 3

Every day is a lesson, with a valued opportunity to learn. At this age, a child’s language begins to explode. Their sentences become more complex, as they learn to communicate more intricate ideas (for e.g. telling a short story). They also become more aware of others. They’re learning to share and take turns, and will spend time watching, imitating and copying the people around them.

There are many ways your child could play. They could imitate the activities they see in their daily life, pretending to make dinner, or sip a cup of tea. They could engage in imaginative play, using trucks to scoop and move rice, oats or sand, constructing roads and building quarries. Or, they could spend time quietly focused, concentrating on learning a new skill like picking up spaghetti with tongs, building sand castles and making shapes with play dough cutters.

Ages: 3 – 5

During the preschool years children become more independent. They often have active imaginations, and love spending time with other children. They’ll make decisions together, negotiating and cooperating to achieve a common goal. They also love movement, and continue to master their fine and gross motor skills through play.

Expect your child to relish the freedom to play their way. They’ll enjoy doing things that are considered “no, no’s” at home, like painting the trucks, and mixing play dough into the water. They're taking charge of their decisions and enjoying their independence. They’ll also love to make new friends and might engage in imaginative play together. They could make up a story, or mix a special batch of slimy soup deciding together which ingredients to add for the perfect brew.

Children are free to be themselves at messy play

The way children choose to play is as unique as the children themselves. Some children will dive into messy play with no hesitation, while others will stand back and watch. Some children will enjoy the sensation of squishing their hands in slime, paint and anything gooey and sticky, while others will want these washed off their hands immediately.

There is no right or wrong way to play at Little Mess Makers, all children will approach the mess differently, in their own time and their own way.

Don't sweat the mess!

Let's be honest. Mess makes parents cringe! The idea of your child making mud pies, building dams and moats with mud covered trucks, and leaving a trail of footprints from paint splattered feet might make you smile. It might evoke your own childhood and sunny days spent digging in the backyard. But, then you remember the cleaning up... urgh!

Don't sweat it, Little Mess Makers is here to help. We'll clean up the mess, so you can relax, enjoy the smiles and make memories with your children.

Little Mess Makers encourages children to

Play, Create, Explore, Experiment, & Have Fun!