Inspiring Curiosity

This week at Messy Monkeys HQ we’ve been thinking a lot about the importance of Curiosity…

Child Development theories define the stages of childhood through different ‘schemas’… children work their way through these schemas as they grow… this relates to the all of the key physical, language and social skills that your child is learning over time and presents itself in repeated patterns of behaviour necessary to master a specific skill.

What’s crucial to note is that the developmental line is by no means linear and can’t be linked specifically to age in months or years… this is something that the education system, sadly, doesn’t always recognise, especially as children get older. Your child is essential in charge of their own development hence the importance of allowing for child led, curious play which allows for flexibility and choice of action.

In order to allow your child autonomy over their development, child led play like sensory and messy play are crucial – allowing children to escape structured, didactic learning and develop the ability to think for themselves, take responsibility for their actions, becoming all the more creative and imaginative in their own play. This is also why allowing your child to be bored every so often is important that’s when the magic of learning often happens!

At Messy Monkeys our aim is to allow your child development opportunities appropriate for their own personal development stage – we provide a theme each week with optional sensory activities and loose parts for the children to enjoy at their own pace in whichever way they choose. We are on hands to make sure the space is safe but our main role as class leaders is to create a setting where curiosity can flourish and the children can become masters of their own play, free to make mistakes (and a lot of mess!) in the process.