Monday, December 18, 2017

Messy Munchkins

This week, on Friday December 22nd, we are hosting a program called Messy Munchkins! This event is a multi-sensory play group for kids ages 0-5 and their caregivers. We'll have fun (and messy!) activities for kids and adults to explore and play with.

We love to offer opportunities for kids to engage in free sensory play. Young ones are busy learning about their world, which they observe through their senses - seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling. Sensory play is play that stimulates these senses. It's great for kids to engage in this kind of play because it stimulates their brains which builds nerve connections in the brain's pathways, it helps develop fine and gross motor skills, and it's fun! Play is an important part of childhood - and life!

If you're interested in ways to encourage playfulness in your home or want to learn more about sensory play, check out some of these books.

Picture Books to Share with Kids
Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg
Edward Gets Messy by Rita Meade
A Perfectly Messed-Up Story by Patrick McDonnell
Mix It Up by Hervé Tullet
A Stick is an Excellent Thing by Marilyn Singer
Not a Box by Antoinette Portis'
I Hear a Pickle and Smell, See, Touch, & Taste it, Too! By Rachel Isadora



Further Reading for Grown-Ups
First Art for Toddlers and Twos: Open-Ended Art Experiences by MaryAnn Kohl
Loose Parts: Inspiring Play in Young Children by Lisa Daly
Loose Parts 2: Inspiring Play with Infants and Toddlers by Miriam Beloglovsky
Raising A Sensory Smart Child: The Definitive Handbook for Helping Your Child with Sensory Processing Issues by Lindsey Biel, M. A. and Nancy Peske
Time to Create: Hands-on Explorations in Process Art for Young Children by Christie Burnett
The Toddler Brain by Laura A. Jana, M.D.

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