In the years that have passed since I began teaching, I have seen an increasing number of children who are uncomfortable with getting their hands dirty. I researched this phenomena and found that there are stages of sensory comfort with new tactile encounters, just like there are stages of development for all aspects of sensory experience. As a culture we are less comfortable with mess making and getting dirty than ever before. (I remember sitting in mud pits making mud pies and even, gasp, sampling my earthy creations without any intervention, only mild smiling from passing adults. YUCK! That didn't happen more than once.) As teachers, our goal is to support all aspects of development. With this in mind, I joined the toddlers this year in an ongoing investigation of mess making.
When we opted for smoothies, I saw an obvious opportunity for fun, so we ditched the tools and mashed bananas and berries by hand.
Some children were more comfortable maintaining a little distance, for them mixing with a fork was still preferable.
Next, we carefully tore dates into small pieces.
And opened a can of light coconut milk.
We poured everything into our blender and turned it on. LOUD!
All that was left to do was enjoy our labors. YUM.
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