kallikids

Many parents find the idea of 'messy play' a bit of a chore. Once a child reaches school age they are often encouraged in to more academic projects and the opportunity to get messy and creative is left behind for the preschoolers. This is a shame as there are great benefits to getting stuck in.

As well as physical and creative development, the EYFS shows personal, social and emotional development, communication, language and literacy, mathematical development and knowledge and understanding of the world.

We recently visited Creative Clay in Brighton with six year old Ellie and Ruby. Here's what they thought of it.

"I went to Creative Clay with my friend Ruby. We had an amazing time as we built a whole forest made from clay with snowmen and snakes!

When we got there, we had to wash our hands. A lovely lady called Barbara gave us some ideas about what we were going to make.

We made a cave and wrote our names on the back of it.

I enjoyed making patterns in the clay and we got really dirty!

We also made some animals to put in our cave and really good trees that stood up.

Then we painted what we had made and gave it to Barbara to set.

I really enjoyed being able to make the forest with Ruby and would love to do it again."

Ellie & Ruby (6)

Creative Clay offer an inspiring, peaceful space for children and adults to discover their creativity and get stuck in. They also offer childrens parties and multiple session discounts. Find out what other parents say on their profile here.

More about the benefits of creative play.