With the nicer weather over the last few weeks we have been enjoying more time exploring and investigating in different ways as the snow melts. One day when we arrived on the playground there were large puddles beside the sandbox and the children were looking for ways to move it from the path. After looking in the shed we found the water pump that we had yet to use and we began trying to determine ways we could use the pump. At first, we tried to place the filter into the puddle to see if that would allow us to pump up the water however, this was unsuccessful. After one child was observed using a shovel to scoop the water up this gave us an idea to scoop all the water into the bucket that came with the pump, to be able to move a larger amount of water at once.
This type of exploration not only kept the children engaged and questioning but also allowed us to strengthen the problem-solving skills and abilities when engaged in a group experience. Having the children use the pump was tough work on their muscles and sometimes even took a friend’s assistance to be able to push the pump all the way down. We not only strengthen those gross motor skills, but also worked towards developing some inquiry-based skills such as questioning things as they are happening, hypothesizing and even trial and error when trying something new.
As the preschoolers now have had a chance to experience the water pump and try it out, as the weather continues to warm up, we are curious to see all of the new ways we can us these materials. We could begin to investigate measurement by adding a ruler into the side of the bucket to leave out when it rains and collect the rain water as it falls, or even on our water days to create even more opportunities on the playground to engage in which ever way they feel most comfortable.
