Tom and I have enjoyed lots of lovely outings this week but yesterday it was some time for 'school work'. The weather has been so lovely that Tom and I have been busy exploring the environment but this doesn't mean Tom doesn't still get his messy activities.
Yesterday whilst Tom was standing, after returning from a walk along the beach in the sunshine, Tom and I decided to play with something really messy. We both decided on caramel. We used the 'Carnation caramel' as its so easy to pour out of the can straight on to Tom's hands. You could make it yourself if you are brave enough!
Tom was super happy about doing messy play today, as soon as I put the caramel in front of him he jumped straight in all on his own. He used his right hand a lot to explore the caramel, I observed him for a good 5 minutes and he was only happy to play with his right hand. I explored the caramel with Tom and we discussed the colour, the smell, and the texture. When the caramel first comes out of the can it is a little gloopy and quite lumpy. As you play with it more and your hands warm it up it becomes runny and smooth.
Once the caramel had warmed up a little I tried to encourage Tom to play with his left hand more. I decided that rather than move Tom's hand over to the caramel, I would cover my hand in caramel and then get Tom to rest his hand on mine. This was because he knows my touch and he knows that I am safe, but also without really realising he is playing with the caramel. This tactic worked really well and by the end of a 35 minute play session Tom was happy to play with both hands and both hands were covered in sticky caramel.
Another great thing about caramel is you can pour it and this adds another aspect to talk about. As I said above when you first get it out of the can it is lumpy and gloopy so it doesn't pour, it just 'plops' but as it becomes warm you can pour it from a height and it is very relaxing to watch. I was using my hands to pour the caramel onto Tom's hands and he was able to watch me. He seemed to find this very relaxing.
This was a really fun activity and we will definitely be playing with caramel again. Give it a go, get sticky and messy, the messier the better!