Water Play Wednesdays

Every Wednesday in Early Years, we hold a Water Play session where the children change into swimming costumes, swimsuits, and sunsuits to explore elements of their topic learning using water. Some of the things the children have done this term include: creating rock pools for the sea life toys, fashioning a muddy waterhole for the safari animal toys, pond dipping in the school pond, exploring the capacity of different containers, and discovering that some substances dissolve and others don’t. A whole lot of understanding of the world is developed!

These sessions are wonderfully engaging, with the children exploring the resources provided and then steering their learning in exciting new directions. For example, during one recent session, the children created a river with bridges for The Three Billy Goats Gruff. While we initially envisioned intricate and imaginative bridges like those designed in class, we were instead treated to a delightful scene of playful trolls lounging in the river, guarding their simple bridges.

This week, the children enthusiastically gave the new bus a sparkling clean. Some innovative techniques emerged, including using their backs to wash the bus while reveling in the refreshing cold water. Others discovered the joy of blowing bubbles from the soapy water onto the lights, captivated by the mesmerizing sparkly effects.