Little Learners on the Beach

This summer, Little Learners came to the beach in Essex! I am lucky enough to have access to a beach hut on the beautiful Mersea Island and so I decided to bring some messy fun to the seaside.

Our Little Learners explored a nursery rhyme theme; we started by singing ‘Row, Row Row your Boat’ and learning about Ziggy and his monster marks, practising these with our scarves. We then investigated a cereal Humpty Dumpty, 5 Little Ducks in a Gelli Baff sea, ‘1,2,3,4,5 Once I Caught a Fish Alive’ water tray, a rice bus and play dough jam tarts for the Queen of Hearts.

Being at the beach can be a challenge (especially when the wind blows!) but it offered a lovely change of scenery from our usual in-hall experiences and it was wonderful watching families paddling in the sea at the end of the session and enjoying the play park nearby.

Messy Play by the Sea!

If you’d like to try some of your own seaside messy play, my top 3 tips are…

1. Bring more towels than you might think you need!
2. Make sure all your messy play materials are eco friendly!
3. Double check you sun tan lotion is water resistant!

We were also lucky enough to be joined by older brothers and sisters who were on school summer holidays – they particularly enjoyed the freedom to enjoy some play-based activities and showed off their super writing skills, drawing triangles, stars and zigzags – amazing!

A special guest joined us for one of our beach sessions – Ziggy himself came along, dipped his toes in the sea and had fun meeting our Little Learners.

I am hoping to do more beach sessions next summer – if you’re in the area, come and join us! Follow Little Learners South Colchester on social media and you’ll see them advertised. If you’re not local, find your nearest Little Learners session here. There are often summer specials and outdoor events available!

Anita