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Korikori wai, Water Play!
As the days get warmer we are enjoying more and more water play in the Takaro preschool class. Water play is always one of the most popular activities and with so many different ways to offer water play, we are promoting many different learning opportunities.
Tamariki enjoy watering the garden flowers and vegetables. As kaitiaki we learn about how to keep plants healthy; we learn about Papatūānuku and science as we have lots of shared discussions as we play.
Another favorite moment is using the pipettes, there is lots of excitement when they succeed in filling their container to the top with their pipette. Tamariki is developing fine motor skills needed for their pencil grip as well as learning numeracy through mixing colors, assessing volumes, and counting how many pipettes squeezes they do.
Tamariki love to use the guttering and long wooden water trough; as they pour water into one end, they watch it flow all the way down to the bucket at the end. By moving the guttering to find the best setup, they are learning to problem solve and about the properties of water and gravity.
As a sensory experience, some tamariki find water calming as they simply tip water and explore it. Others love to add it to the sandpit until we have a sensory messy play. Another satisfying activity is using the big outside paintbrushes to paint our fences and whare with water.
As children use the tap to independently access water, they are learning to be responsible and look after each other as they try to stay dry. We even learn to conserve water as we discuss where our water comes from and why we need to conserve it.