Learning Through Water Play

Throughout the past month, the children explored a variety of water based sensory experiences that encouraged creativity, curiosity and problem-solving.

During our water exploration, we have been incorporating lots of different toys into our water play. Something the children have really been enjoying is washing toys with soapy water. We have washed cars, animals, magnets and a mix of translucent and opaque connectors.

After washing cars with just soap and water, to extend the activity, we added paint in a tuff tray for the children to make car tracks with before transferring the cars to a cleaning station and washing the paint off with soapy water. The children also played with connectors in soapy water and made lots of different creations. Some of the gear shaped connectors are solid colours and others are translucent with various colours and sizes. The children began collecting the connectors from the bottom of the tuff tray full of water, sorting them by size and colour. Lucas M. noticed that the translucent connectors were much harder to see at the bottom of the tuff tray than the solid coloured ones which he said were much brighter and easier to see. The children used the connectors to make various vehicles as Lucas made a motorcycle and Zyaire made a truck. While washing these toys, the children engaged in imaginative play and made observations about different materials. The children had conversations about textures, colours and different ways to use the toys in the water.

Outside the children explored bins full of colourful water. Each colour was in a separate bin. During this activity the children used droppers and cans with holes in the bottom to mix colours and observe the flow of water through these materials. The children experimented with mixing different colours by dumping one colour into another. Throughout this activity the children developed fine motor skills and learned about science concepts as they experimented with different colour combinations and water flow.

The children also enjoyed adding pipes to their water play and exploring different methods for pouring, dumping and transferring water which supported their understanding of movement. These experiences encouraged critical thinking and cooperative play as children worked together to create pathways for the water. Lucas M. and Felix used the pipes to fill them with water and covered one end with their hand so the water wouldn’t spill out and they could transfer it to the other containers. Other children observed them and did the same thing, experimenting with different ways to transfer the water without it spilling.

To continue exploring colours through water play, we brought a tuff tray, water colour paint pallets and paint brushes outside. The children began painting the tuff tray, Oakley made a yellow sun and Zara made a blue ocean. After the children finished painting the tuff tray, we used white paper and stamped the water colour paintings to transfer it onto the white paper. Some of the children chose to continue painting and added some more paint on top of the stamped art. Outdoor water colour painting invited children to experiment with their use of colour and water.

Water play with silicone muffin cups encouraged pouring, scooping and transferring skills as well. We filled a tuff tray with lots of water outside and added silicone muffin cups. Aaryan said “this looks like a boat sailing across the water” as one of the muffin cups floated across the water, and the children noticed that the wind was pushing the empty cups across the tuff tray. We brought the materials indoors to continue our play and combined them with gems and rocks. Then children naturally began sorting and classifying the objects by colour, size and type. As the children sorted them by colour, they picked them up in handfuls before slowly dropping them back into the water, watching them make a splash and sink to the bottom. Zyan used the silicone cups to sort out the different colour gems. Together we observed that outside, the silicone cups were floating on top of the water and moving with the wind, but when we added gems, the cups sink to the bottom of the tuff tray.

Another way the children have been really enjoying water play is with ice. We have been freezing small toys like insects and animals in ice. Frozen animals trapped inside the ice encouraged the children to investigate different ways to melt and break the ice such as pouring water over it, holding it in their hands, hitting it gently with various materials, and leaving it in the sun. Throughout this process the children explored and learned about temperature, problem solving skills and different states of water between liquid and solid.

Overall, these many sensory experiences have provided the children with lots of different opportunities to express creativity, communication and learn many new skills. The children demonstrated curiosity, confidence and a big willingness to explore and learn through water play. We will continue to find new and exciting ways to engage in water play and keep cool this summer!