At RisingOaks Early Learning I St Nicholas, the water tap on the playground has recently been turned on and the toddlers have been loving this waterplay exploration.
Marina has been clapping with excitement at being able to control the flow of the water instantly catching on to the pushing of the knob.
Hudson has used the dish mop to take the water from the trough telling us he is cleaning the stumps.
Danny has enjoyed the accumulation of water in the container below to splash and get wet all over.
Harlow, Sash and Hudson have been filling their small containers from the trough and tap and transferring the water to larger containers stating things such as, “I'm making soup,” “I'm making muffins,” and “I'm baking you a Happy Birthday cake.”
Mattea has even used this water to fill and mix with the sand in order to create sand castles that stick together instead of dry sand ones that crumble apart.
The benefits of outdoor play are many.
Creativity and imagination are accomplished through open ended play with the children using their own imagination to create whatever they want with it.
Physical development is attained through simply the weight of the water and being able to carefully walk with little spilling transferring it from one area to another. Also, they explore the force needed to effectively push the button I order for the water to flow out.
Sharing and cooperative play allows children to build on their communication skills along with creating a calming stimulating activity for all.
Concepts such as floating and sinking and measuring of the water is a fun way of exposing the children to beginning math concepts.
Even things such as balance and coordination are developed through the use of containers and maneuvering their way from one area of the sandbox to another.
The warm weather that is on the way will give the toddlers many more opportunities to develop the skills needed for daily life along with having so much sensory fun.
