The weather is getting warmer. Children enjoy to engage in outdoor activities and various games very much, especially in the sandbox area. They are observed using their imagination to create a variety of foods and drinks with sand. Seeing this interest, educator Sue helped the children to carry out a picnic activity. She decorated a picnic area in the place where the children played with sand. The children showed their preferences and created what they are interested in, such as playing birthday parties, playing family holiday parties, and playing various entertainment parties. Cillian recently celebrated his birthday and he made a sand cake and shared it with his friends. Dania, Brady and Owen washed the dishes in the running water. Faris put some sand in a cup and said, “Sue, this is the juice I made for you.” Liora held a plate with some food toys in it and said, “This is the sandwich I made.” Wyatt took some kitchen utensils and told his friends that he liked picnics very much. More and more children began to share what they had made.
Based on this, the educators in preschool worked together and organized an outdoor picnic. We first contacted Karen our cook, and checked the food according to the menu of the day. The food was suitable for all children to eat as there were no food allergens, and it was a comfortable one to eat outdoors. The children washed their hands and sat together on the playground and the educators distributed food to them. The children appeared to enjoy being able to experience this opportunity. After eating, the children cooperated and put the banana peels and napkins in a garbage bag. This allows children to further improve their environmental awareness and sense of responsibility and independence.
This opportunity to have our picnic outdoors, has many benefits for children:
In a relaxed picnic atmosphere, even children who may not be interested in eating snack we observe are encouraged to try or eat, by the influence of the environment and the encouragement of their peers. A picnic for preschool children is not just a simple meal. It is a comprehensive learning experience that integrates social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development, which supporting growth of children in many areas. Also, connecting the picnic and sandbox play provides development opportunities for children because sand is an open-ended material that children can use to create anything they can imagine, such as food, cakes, etc. They will name the sand "food" and imagine different scenes and storylines. This open-ended material encourages children to use their creative thinking, and explore and express freely.
What will our next activity to foster imaginative play and learning be? Perhaps a camping experience should be the next idea for us and the children during summer.
