Hey Sweeties,
From about seven weeks old, I began to seek out local baby groups and classes that I could attend with my son, Austin. I had heard about the Little Learners messy play classes and Austin began attending our local group from around seven months old, at this point he could confidently sit and had begun weaning.
Messy Play – Enriched Learning
Little Learners messy play encourages babies and children to learn using a variety of fun activities, each designed to help children develop their early writing skills, coordination and motor skills.
“Every material, tool and activity has a lot of thought put into it as I try to provide opportunities for children to feel (and taste!) different textures and experience different physical movements such as pouring, squeezing, and dragging. The activities are all pretty open-ended to encourage children to be scientists and explore!” -Bernice, Little Learners Maidenhead, Windsor and Slough.
Mark Making – What is it?
Mark making is one of the key components of the overall concept of messy play and concerns the physical development of a child. Even something as simple as a baby sweeping its hand through a tray of rice can develop motor skills, and as the child gets older they can experiment with making marks of different sizes, shapes and motions such as pouring and squeezing.
Experiencing our local Little Learners Messy Play Class
I was really fortunate that I didn’t have to travel far to attend my local group, and upon arrival I was warmly greeted by Bernice, the franchisee of Little Learners Windsor, Maidenhead and Slough.
The session began with a quick group discussion and song before we were able to descend upon each of the activities that Bernice had arranged around the room. The class is open to babies and young infants so there was a mix of activities to suit everybody.
Not all of the individual activities were messy but the ones most suitable to Austin definitely were. In addition to a couple of trays containing dry ingredients, there was a tray of baked beans and sweetcorn, and also a tray with a blue jelly. Of course everything went straight into Austin’s mouth but even though not all of it tasted particularly nice, nothing was toxic or harmful.
The Benefits of Attending Baby Groups
Even before having my son, I understood how attending baby groups and classes could be beneficial for both babies and mums (dads too of course). You all get out of the house for an hour or two, meet other (new) parents, and have fun… or at least a cup of tea and a biscuit!
I attended my first baby class when Austin was about 7-weeks old which in hindsight was a tad young, but as a new mum while it was easier to stay in the security and comfort of my home with him, it was also incredibly isolating and I needed to interact with other new mums navigating parenthood so I pushed myself to get out of the house.
Additionally, I learnt quite early on in his life after attending a couple of baby groups, that Austin can be incredibly motivated by seeing other babies and children. Even if he hasn’t particularly wanted to join in on something we’re doing, he has still wanted to observe what is happening which has definitely had a positive impact on his learning and development.
Summary
Over time as Austin gets older and as his skills develop, he’ll be able to work his way around all the individual stations at Little Learners messy play classes and it’ll be a really fun way for me to witness his progress.
Once I am back at work and will only have a day or so each week to spend with him, I think an hour at messy play will be the ideal class to attend. Austin will have the opportunity to play with, interact and observe a variety of other children, and burn some energy which I will no doubt be grateful for.
Learn more about what Little Learners UK can offer your little ones, and find your local messy play classes online.
Until next time x
*Post in collaboration with Little Learners UK. I was kindly gifted the opportunity to attend a class in exchange of a review. All opinions are honest and my own.
