Messy play is meaningful learning. It stimulates the senses, activates whole body learning, and brings ideas to life  in ways no story or worksheet ever could. It's like drivers' ed for little learners' brains!

Jumping in puddles, raking leaves, and throwing snowballs are real life PE and science lessons. Sand, dirt, and shaving cream are full of soft, squishy, and slippery language learning opportunities. All of these activities are physical, occupational, and speech and language therapy in action!

Here's how my little learners and I use messy play to support learning and progress with therapy goals. Note: if messy play is triggering for you as an adult, reference this resource.

Nature play - Leaves, sticks, and flowers are great for describing and comparing sizes, shapes, and colors. And they can be ingredients in a class teamwork recipe! One class made soft leaf "hummus" and rough stick "pita chips" to feed the tricycles for snack.

Shaving cream construction - Shaving cream construction can be a great architecture or science experiment. There are so many opportunities to try new things and practice patience, persistence, and problem-solving (over and over again) when things did not go according to plan. It's also a fun way to build frustration tolerance and teamwork skills through play.

Alphabet soup - Alphabet soup makes is a recipe for fine motor skills and phonemic awareness (the foundation for reading). And it can seasoned for different learners. Some may search for letters in their name. Others may stir together simple words. And everyone can laugh as I try to blend the letter sounds of MWPRQFSIGBC!

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Rebecca A. Weiner, M.Ed. Is a dynamic educator who is passionate about helping young children with diverse abilities, their families, and their teachers connect, communicate, and learn with confidence. She specializes in play-based enrichment, parent coaching, developmental and inclusion support, and consulting in schools.