Arty Splats Toddler class – Having fun making mess

When we think of our babies and toddlers, what do we think of?  We think of mess!!  The two go hand in hand I say but not always in the most positive sense!  Well now they can as Arty Splats is the place to be when it comes to letting our kids get messy (with no tidying up from us Mamas and Dads – hurray!)

What is Arty Splats?

If you haven’t heard of this class before, Arty Splats is an educational programme for babies and children up to age 5.  The founder is a lovely lady called Jo who is not only a qualified teacher but a Mum of two herself.  When it came to creating Arty Splats, her aim was to allow and offer children the opportunity to learn and develop doing exciting activities.  These classes offer children the chance to experiment, grow their abilities and have a lot of messy fun!  What child doesn’t want to splash, draw, stamp, squash, squeeze and paint!

Our experience of a class

Baby K and I were very excited to attend our local Arty Splats class and we even took Matt along too (thanks for being my photographer!)  We started by getting K into his overall so he was all covered up and his clothing was protected.  He quite enjoyed wearing this!  We then got into a circle and sang some songs, played some instruments and welcomed Arty, who is the class mascot.  Arty is a giraffe and I could see was adored by the children who regularly attend.  When he was passed to Baby K, he didn’t want to let go either!

Our class leader, the lovely Sarah, then explained what was out on the floor behind us.  And wasnt we in for a treat.  Today’s theme (and it seems there is a theme each week!) was Peppa Pig.  This was super impressive as Baby K has just discovered Peppa Pig and can now say Peppa so clearly!

There was about 7 areas on offer, each on their own tray and offering a ray of different style activities.  We had water play, cereal play, a farm area, finger and toe painting, a crafts table and even a clear umbrella that the children could be let loose on with colourful paints!  There were wellies the children could wear to make paint footprints with, trucks and diggers and straw and hay to explore.

After 30 minutes of free play, the children then gathered back into a circle time. They finished off the class with a selection of nursery rhymes and a goodbye.

Our verdict of our Arty Splats class

Baby K loved this class as, well, he loves to make mess!  He made a bee line for the cereal play as he loves to play with cars and trucks.  H got really stuck in!  He enjoyed eating the cereal too – which he was free to do so of course!  It was great the children began with structured group time but were then left to their own devices to play and explore.  Some children who had been attending for some time really seemed confident and were so creative!

I love the idea of weekly themed classes.   It brings something personal to the group (the following group was royal wedding theme in support of Harry and Megan’s wedding!)  We also loved the class mascot Arty, as did all the children.

Are looking for a class where you child can be let loose on an array of crafts, materials and generally having a jolly good time making mess?  Then this is for you.  I attended the class in Solihull but you can check Arty Splats time-table for local classes to you!

Whats’ your favourite toddler class?  Leave me a comment below!

*This is a collaborative post.  I was offered a free trial in exchange for this review.  All words and opinions are my own*