A Glorious Mess

One-year-old M was busy. She was painting with intention, using her fingers and hands and brushes to manipulate the shaving cream/paint/glitter mixture across the shiny surface of the aluminum foil. 

After working for a few moments, she went to the sink, cleaned her hands, and returned to the paint, ready to work again. Moving at her own pace, tuning into her own comfort level with mess, she worked this way for almost twenty minutes-- messy sensory play, cleaning hands, repeat.
Trusting children to navigate their learning and giving them the tools and space they need to craft their experience is the most powerful thing we can do as educators. It is indeed a glorious mess!