Had some fun water play today using funnels! Only things you need are: Plastic funnel, a cup, and a pitcher of water.
Lee poured the water...
Removed the funnel, and poured the water back into the pitcher....
and repeat!
Yep, little brother joined in too :)
So, Lee has been having alot of trouble with pattern sequencing. He just didn't get it. And it didn't look like he would be getting it! Oh, well, he'd get it when he was ready...right? So i left it alone.
I made some colored pasta noodles for him since he enjoys stringing noodles.
So far he had only been using the plain colored, yellowish ones (without any coloring). As i treat, i made some brown and red ones...you know, add a little variety lol!It was REALLY easy.
I put a couple noodles in a ziploc baggie and added a tiny drop of vinegar (you don't want soggy noodles!)
Added a drop of food coloring (i used gel)
Squish it all together
When the color was even on all pasta peices, i let them dry on a brown paper bag
Then they were free to use!
Then guess what! Lee started using pattern to string the noodles! This is how it went:
Lee: look mama! Red, yellow, brown, red, yellow, brown.....next comes red!
Me: Good Job....so, what comes after red?
Lee: Yellow (strings a yellow one)
Me: Awesome! Thennnn....
Lee: Brown!
And he kept on going!
Me: Awesome! Thennnn....
Lee: Brown!
And he kept on going!
How awesome is that! Just goes to show, you don't have to "teach" kids.... kids just get it when the environment is right for them to learn it :)
And of course little brother was learning in his own way also!
And of course little brother was learning in his own way also!
Hey guys!
What Do Children Learn From Water Play?
Imagine putting your hands into cool water on a hot day, feeling it drip from your fingers, the heavy feel of a container with water sloshing around. Water play delights the senses and is far more than simply pleasurable for young children. This type of sensory play is important for the development of the young child. High quality early childhood programs offer many sensory play experiences, such as water, sand, and play dough.
Water play is good for children’s physical, mental (cognitive), and social-emotional growth. In sensory play there is no right or wrong way to play. When children pour water, they are improving their physical dexterity and eye-hand coordination. By playing with others in blowing bubbles or washing baby dolls, they develop social skills. At the same time, they use their minds as they explore why certain objects sink in water and others float. Children learn concepts such as empty/full, before/after, shallow/deep, and heavy/light in a hands-on way. Children learn new words that go along with water play, such as funnel, surface, float, and strain.
This list describes some of the many ways that water play helps development:
Physical Development
- Improves fine motor skills - lifting containers with water
- Improves eye-hand coordination - pouring water
Cognitive Development
- Shows math and science concepts: sinking and floating, volume
- Shows that the same amount of water may appear to be different when poured into different sized and shaped containers
- Increases vocabulary - wet, dry, sopping, sink, float
Social-emotional Development
- Provides opportunities to imitate the play of others - children wash baby dolls
- Provides opportunities for imaginative play
- Helps dramatic play - together children develop social skills
The boys love water play and I love watching their imagination run wild while they are playing! In these pictures i used red food coloring to give the water some color...but i'll be using just plain water from now on! Much easier to clean up!
Worked on sequencing this morning with Lee. A little to easy, but he likes it.
Little brother set these dinos up himself, and he was so proud!
