A teachers reflection on the value of messy play

Learning is not orderly or aesthetic, it is organic and that means it can get messy, it can get chaotic, and that is perfectly fine. Being engaged and learning through messy play means dirty clothes. But - both clothes and children can be washed. Messy play is sensory. It’s physical play, it’s exploring and it’s imagining. Children can practice fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. They can pre-write and draw, fill and pour, feel different textures, mix and create...they can talk, and they will giggle. Overall this empowers the children to take risks, be a confident independent learner full of self esteem and confidence. Language opportunities abound during messy play. The concept of a hundred languages in the Reggio Emilia Approach means that learning happens in many ways – that sitting, reading and writing in an orderly fashion is just not going to work for all children, there needs to be alternative ways to process information and experiences.

I read that creativity comes from chaos, that messiness and failure are necessary to create new ideas. For me, being “Reggio inspired” is about ideas, about connecting ideas, expanding ideas, interacting with each others’ ideas, building ideas – and doing this collaboratively. This means we need to get prepared for mess – to explore, to discover, to make mistakes and try again.

I have also come to terms with the fact that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, that we really don’t all see beauty in the same way, so why should children consider the same things as us beautiful?

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” – Fred Rogers