MESSY PLAY CLASSES
AGES 6 months - 3 years old
Mondays at Dolliver Park in Larkspur
(meet us by the benches, across the street from the playground)
AGES 6 months - 3 years old
10 am - 11 am
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​​​​Fridays in Fairfax with the Fairfax Recreation Center
(meet us at Peri Park Green Stage on sunny days and inside the Pavilion on rainy days)
REGISTRATION for this class is through the Fairfax Recreation Center
AGES 6 months - 3 years old
10 am - 11 am
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New to Messy Play?
Drop-in to our FREE Pop-Up Trial Class
- 10/24: Peri Park Green Stage in Fairfax
12:30PM-1:30PM
If you like the free class, register for a monthly session!
Our Messy Play classes provide a full-on, sensory rich experience for children ages 6 months - 3 years old. ​Join us for an hour of play and be prepared to get messy! Children rotate between four messy play stations. We have new themes each week. Nature can often be your best friend when it comes to sensory play and that is why we meet outdoors whenever possible. We meet indoors on rainy days and days with extreme temperatures. Besides being super fun, our classes are packed with social, emotional and cognitive benefits for developing brains. Messy Play classes meet weekly and are offered in three locations. Join us at one, or all three, sites! All classes purchased for a particular location must be attended at that location. For example, when you purchase a China Camp package you may attend at the China Camp location only but if you'd like to join Messy Play more than one day a week, you can register for multiple locations and enjoy exploring and connecting with other families at that site as well. Make sense?
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We also work with local schools so be in touch to schedule one time or recurring visits.​​
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Exploring Our Everyday World
Squish, squelch, spin, splash, squeeze, bang, run, scoop, shake, drop, smear, toss, spray, and ooze – toddlers absolutely delight in exploring their world through their senses. It sounds (and can be!) messy, so you may often be inclined to cut this type of play short. But in fact, sensory play – play that stimulates any of a child’s senses – has an important role in a child’s health and development. Through it, your child builds cognitive skills and learns about their world.
What is Sensory Play?
In essence, sensory play includes play that engages any of your child’s senses. This includes touch, smell, sight, sound and taste. But it also covers movement, balance, and spatial awareness. When a child is born, their senses aren’t fully developed. They only mature over time as babies, toddlers, and preschoolers explore the sensory world around them. Each new experience they have with a different sense builds nerve connections that grow the architecture of their brain. Sensory play encourages learning through exploration, curiosity, problem solving and creativity. It helps to build nerve connections in the brain and encourages the development of language and motor skills. There are many benefits that may go unnoticed, such as the development of abilities to focus and block out distractions. Sensory play is an important part of childhood and, within reason, there are really no limits to what you can use in sensory activities.
Benefits of Sensory Play for Babies
Babies learn and develop new connections in their brain through play. Sensory play also helps babies to learn more about the world around them and supports language development as they learn to respond to different stimuli. Babies can enjoy simple sensory play such as touching different objects and surfaces and hearing how different materials create varied sounds. Additionally, the importance of having fun, playing with, holding, and sharing happiness with your baby cannot be overstated. Smiles, laughter, touch, and interaction are as important to a baby's development as food or sleep.
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Benefits of Sensory Play for Toddlers
Toddlers are usually developing their thinking abilities and will start trying to do things for themselves. They are learning about concepts, like time and opposites, so activities that compare light and dark, and sorting colors, will encourage toddlers in their exploration.
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Benefits of Sensory Play for Preschoolers
Preschoolers will often be exploring more independently and further developing language. Creating and building different shapes with various objects and materials, will further encourage these developments.