Waterplay Summer

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 Water play is valuable for children starting in infancy. Babies/toddlers love to splash and sometimes make a mess.  Splashing and spilling is part of experimenting with water.

Water play delights the senses and is far more than simply pleasurable for young children.  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 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.

As the caregiver, my role is to provide a safe environment, supply a wide variety of water play materials, set up an outdoor water play area, build and extend children's language through describing their play with water, and ask them open-ended questions.

 

What do the children get out of this Physically???

  • Improves fine motor skills - lifting containers with water
  • Improves eye-hand coordination - pouring water

 

What do the children get out of this Cognitively???

  • 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

 

What do the children get out of this Socially-emotionally??

  • 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