WF, 07/24/2026 | Wee Friends Early Childhood Program LLC

Happy Friday!

We spent much of the morning outdoors. The majority of our kids spent a large portion of their morning in the sandbox. With the addition of water, the possibilities for sand exploration have multiplied. Kids dug ponds and built drip castles. One friend mentioned he wished he could pipe the water…so we introduced some pipes to tinker with. Kids worked as a team creating water pipping systems that went under the sand into a group pond digging project. Everyone forgot about lunch and worked on the project until the last possible second!

Unstructured play with time to explore materials like sand and water, offers a great many benefits in early childhood development. Freedom from strict rules lets kids innovate and express themselves without fear of making mistakes. Managing their own actions and choices builds self-esteem. Messy outdoor play activates all of the sensory systems at once, integrating and unifying the brain. Physically, kids are building healthy immune systems with exposure to safe everyday microbes. Kids are using their whole bodies to explore the world through trial/error. The are using creative and cooperative problem solving to plan and carry out project ideas. Its hard to imagine how many different ways kids can be learning and developing through open ended messy outdoor play!