Why You Should Let Your Kids Make Messes

 We live in a world of creativity and curiosity, and yet, kids are becoming less and less creative and curious. As a teacher, I look at students in their current life, and I picture them as a successful adult: What are they doing? How successful are they? What can I be doing NOW to help them be successful in the future?

Most employers today are looking for creative thinkers. Those who can problem solve and think outside the box are highly sought out by employers today. Companies are constantly reaching for innovation - and in reality, our entire society is constantly thirsty for innovation, the latest and greatest thing! 

I go on that long explanation of the future employers because it all starts now. That sweet little babe staring up at you with drool running down their chin is the future of our world. It is our job as parents (and teachers) to mold our children's minds....and it doesn't have to be rocket science! All we really have to do is give our children the opportunity to explore and MAKE MESSES. Sometimes, it can be as simple as giving an infant old enough to sit up a lid, bowl, and spoon and letting them just explore it. 

I have been known on more than one occasion to put uncooked noodles or uncooked dry beans into a bowl with a spoon and let my son have at it. This not only sparks their creativity, encourages hand/eye coordination, and works on those kinesthetic/tactile skills. And I mean really - does it really take us THAT long to clean it up? 

How often are we preventing our children from blossoming their creativity because we don't want to be inconvenienced? REAL TALK MAMAS. 

Once your kiddos get older and are able, this can also be a great opportunity to teach them cleaning skills. You allow them to make the mess, and you make a game of cleaning it up! 

Can I be frank for a minute? Screen time does the EXACT OPPOSITE of sparking creativity. It does the exact opposite of teaching clean up skills and hand/eye coordination skills. While there are definitely some great educational videos out there for children to watch, they simply CANNOT replace putting real materials in kids hands and letting them explore. Exploring kinesthetically/tactile-y (yes, I just made up a word!) is entirely different from only exploring mentally. Screen time totally has its place - but don't rely on your children's educational TV programs to spark creativity, curiosity, and problem solving abilities in your children. Place real things in front of them, too! 

Lessons Kids Learn through Making Messes:

1) Hand/Eye Coordination

2) Clean Up Skills

3) Creativity 

4) Curiosity 

5) Problem Solving Skills

So...as crazy as it may sound....get to making messes and sparking that creativity! Just remember not to lose your mind in the process :)

Stay tuned for a few blog posts about IDEAS involving controlled messes....or not so controlled messes. 

6 Toddler Indoor Activities for when You're Snowed In!

Stuck indoors? Kids going stir crazy?

If you're in the United States, you likely have or will see snow soon. As I am writing this, we are roughly 6-ish inches in to a 3 day snowstorm. We've been "snowed in" for almost a week already! As a teacher, I enjoyed the first several snow days. They came as a welcome break from the day in and day out. This week, we will be diving in to virtual learning during our snow days (thanks a lot, Covid). If you're anything like me, you're starting to go a little stir crazy - and the kiddos are, too! I've had to get pretty creative with activities for my toddler lately so that he isn't bored to tears. If you're anything like me, you hate the idea of sitting your kids in front of a screen for entertainment. Looking for indoor activities to do during a snow storm? These are tried and true methods to beat the snowed-in blues. Some of the indoor activities for kids listed below are classics, because who says you have to reinvent the wheel, right? 

1) SNOW CREAM

When it's too cold to venture out but there's plenty of snow to go around, grab a bowl and some boots and collect some snow! Just make sure to collect snow from a deep area, safe from animals and other critters....no one likes yellow or brown snow. BLEGH. Snow cream is a tried and true classic. If you like ice cream, you'll enjoy this easy-peasy indoor snow activity that brings the snow to you! This recipe is super simple and only uses ingredients you likely already have in your pantry! The best part? This recipe is so versatile, you can adjust each ingredient based on how sweet you want your snow cream to taste!

Snow Cream:

2-4 cups of snow

2-4 tablespoons of sugar

1-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1/4 cup of milk

Mix together and enjoy!

2) SNOW Sensory Play

Another stupid simple snow day activity is snow sensory play. I am a huge advocate of sensory play for the littles. Give them random things and let. them. explore. The best way for a child to learn is to be left to their own devices (with adult supervision of course!). For snow sensory play, all you need is a bowl and snow. You can add in cups, scoops, spoons, play kitchen tools, shapes for molding, ect. The possibilities are endless! I plop my son down in his highchair, give him a bowl of snow and some "tool" and let him have at it! It's tons of fun and minimal mess...until the snow melts of course!

3) Snow Painting

This is another ridiculously easy (but slightly messy) activity for your littles to do. Simply go outside and get a bowl of snow. Flatten the snow on a plate or inside a tub. Then, fill a few small cups with water and add 1-2 drops of liquid food coloring. Give your little a paintbrush and let them go! Pro-Tip: Cover whatever surface you're going to put the snow in with aluminum foil or clear wrap because you know, food coloring stains...Don't learn the hard way!

4) Obstacle Course

Do you have tape, paper plates, and blankets? Then you have everything you need to create an obstacle course for your kiddos to burn off energy in! This indoor snow activity requires some prep on your part, but ends in hours of fun! Use tape to create a "laser run" or make shapes on the floor that they have to jump to. Use paper plates as stopping points. Hang up blankets for them to climb under. With this indoor snow activity, the possibilities are endless! 

5) Ice Globes

This is more of a craftivity than just a snow day activity, but it is still fun none the less. All you need is balloons, water, and food coloring for this creative and pretty activity. All you have to do is fill the balloon with water and add a few drops of food coloring. Then, if it's cold enough outside, just stick the balloon outside! These make fun, easy decorations to break up the plain white sheets of ice outside.

6) Make Homemade Play-Dough

This is an activity almost any age group can do (with adult supervision and help of course!) Playdough is so versatile - you can use it for all different types of imaginative play. Making playdough on a cold, snow day is a great indoor activity. Why buy store bought playdough when you can kill extra time at home with your kiddos by making it yourself? The best part is that it's made with ingredients you likely already have in your home - or if you're like me, you're neighbor has them and you can borrow. Heh. I am completely okay with my toddler playing with this homemade playdough because if he puts it in his mouth 1) he's going to be sorely mistaken when he tastes all that salt and 2) I don't have to worry about him getting sick from it. Although I obviously do not recommend you let your child eat this playdough due to the sodium content and as always you should supervise your child while playing with the playdough. Here's a super simple (and non-toxic) recipe:

Homemade Playdough Recipe

2 1/2 cups of flour

3 tablespoons of vegetable oil (or olive or coconut) 

3 tablespoons cream of tartar

3/4 cup of salt

1-1 1/2 cups of warm water

gel food coloring (optional)