15. Sensational Play - creating a "yes" space

I mentioned before how important the home environment is. And just briefly touched on the idea of a "yes" space. I felt that this could use a post all of its own.

Messes are frustrating for parents. Scolding is discouraging to learning

Lets find a middle ground.

Kids absolutely need the space to create messes. Sensory exploration widens their scope of creativity. Creativity creates life-long learners. Not only that but it is a safe environment for them to explore limitations. Many of us were not allowed to create messes as kids, and so this is a major stressors for us now, as parents. Mixed play-dough colors anyone? 😬 My advice is to start small. Don't go for an elaborate themes rice bin right out of the gate.

Start with a simple water table outside on a warm day. Play with water temperatures, or put food coloring in the bin. Freeze small toys inside an ice cube tray or mix soap for foam. A messier option, and highly popular one, is to add cocoa powder and corn starch for 'mud'. Let them muddy, wash toys, and repeat until further notice. The options with this simple set up are nearly endless.

From there you might eventually graduate to rainbow rice but there is no rush to make your life more complicated. The dollar store has so many great options for sensory toys and tools. Foam stickers, feathers, and pom poms always come in handy. Pinterest can be a great tool too. I look for simplicity when I browse. Check out my board here.

Sensory play is messy.

Messes are not a bad thing. We have to teach the skill to make messes the same as we teach the skills to clean them up.

You'll figure out what works through trial and error. I've invested plenty of time into a fair amount of sensory activities that have been a total flop. The trick is to look for things they are already interested in. Take things that they are "getting into" that they shouldn't be and look for a way to make it OK. This how we create a "yes space"

Pulling the wipes out of the bag or tissues out of the box?

Find an little cardboard box and cut a hole in it then stuff it with these Rainbow Scarves. They also make all-in-one tissue box toys like this if you're not the crafty type.

Pouring out their cups and bowls at the dinner table?

Set up a large cookie tray and a pouring activity. Pouring is a valuable skill to teach think of how often in your day you use that skill. the sooner they learn it the less work for you. When they can pour their own drinks think of all the spare time you'll have! 😏 Use a cup, a basket, a bowl, or anything they seem to like and fill it with dry moss, pom poms, beans, water, rice, dirt, kinetic sand, the possibilities are endless.

Playing with their food?

Put it in a bin. Textures are fun. They will want to explore everything they do to the maximum capacity. We can use this to our advantage. Color the noodles or beans first so they're distinguished as a play device not to be confused with the dinner table kind. If they are playing with their food at the table you can kindly remind them we don't do that with regular noodles but we can get out the play noodles after dinner (or tomorrow). In their mind that's a win. They get what they want in fantasy and will have something to look forward to.

Additionally sensory play will help if you have picky eaters. If there's a noodle shape or food texture they are afraid to try, give it to them in play. As they become familiar with it they are likely to find out it is actually quite edible and probably delicious.

Sensory play invites curiosity, confidence, responsibility, and independent play. You may begin your play journey as a partnership but find yourself with free time that you thought you would never get back.

Before I has the confidence to do the colored rice I used dry beans and colored sand packs from the dollar store. Throw in some little figurines from Wild Republic and recyclables you've got yourself a game. They have an awesome variety and my kids love the tiny life-like figures. They even have characters from the Oregon trail or space exploration.

You can use any old bin for sensory play but my kids like to stand when they dig around so the Ikea table has been great. I don't know about yours, but my kids are ROUGH on stuff. Most plastic bins don't hold up. We have had this table for nearly 4 years and its been durable enough. The plastic tubs too. They have climbed inside the bins to play with their feet and nothing is broken yet! It's easy enough to move around the house and chairs still fit below the bins. The wood top is so great for closing up the table when everything is finished.

When we are done with an activity I usually try to store the themes together in gallon ziptop bags for easy access but its ok to throw away the materials that aren't salvageable. Our kinetic sand was pretty gross after a month of dropping it on the carpet. We reuse materials several times before they're retired usually.

When it's all said and done I think I enjoy the bins as much as the kids so. Even if the goal is to develop independent play, there's no reason why we can't have fun too.

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