Water Tank and Tap
In my centre we had a situation with water in the popular sandpit. The children would always ask to use the water from the hose for their creations mostly for baking or using it with the trucks. It was hard to turn the hose off and on as the tap was far away, creating a problem for the children.
During mat time the children discussed what they could use to capture rain water so it was there for them to use when they next came to kindy. They talked about objects such as buckets, cups and even spoons. Te Whāriki states “growing experience in solving problems together develops children’s understanding of how technologies can help them and others” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 96). I explained to the children how some houses collect their water in a tank and how we could use this and a tap for our sandpit. Early Childhood Development and Hutt Valley District Health Board (n.d) “consider having a tap, or water source, close by so children can combine water and sand play” (p. 15). The water tank and tap are great non digital pieces of technology which allows children to continue their interest of water in the sandpit.
The tank was connected next to the sandpit which is able to catch the rain from the cubby house. The children were excited when they discovered it after coming back from the weekend. They found it has a tap to turn the water on and off. One of the children commented on how it was the same as the hose and their bathroom taps. My centre has taps where you press it once and the water gets distributed for a certain amount of time. The children were able to make this connection and recognise the material can be used in a range of situations for different purposes (Ministry of Education, 1996).
When the children first began using it, they found the tap was hard to master. Solving this practical problem meant the children had to use two hands or ask their friends to help, allowing them to gain confidence as they figured a solution (Ministry of Education, 1996). The children became familiar with what way to turn it and the strength needed, therefore developing their gross motor skills (Santrock, 2010).
Another challenge was after plenty of use the tap became stuck with sand, again making it difficult to turn, even for myself. I asked the children if they could think of a way to make it easier and one of the children began pouring water back over the tap. This proved to do the trick and now I always see children pouring water over it. They also facilitate each other when the other requires assistance to turn the tap which develops social skills and learning from one another (Santrock, 2010).
The children gain great mathematical skills exploring with the water in the sandpit. The New Zealand Curriculum (2007) believes mathematics is “different ways of thinking and of solving problems” (p. 26). While collecting water in the buckets, the children have to think about how much they need, when to turn off the tap, if it’s going to be too heavy for them to carry. The children absolutely love using and having access to water whenever they require it. “Children develop an understanding of the nature and properties of a range of substances, such as sand, water” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 90). The tap allows this to occur.
I encountered the water being used too quickly during the session. I wanted the children to understand water is an important material for the world and could be used for more needed situations such as droughts in summer or watering the plants. Although it was difficult to restrict this great experience of exploring and learning with sand and water away. I decided to make them aware of rationing the water, using it for purposeful play and turning off the tap once they were finished to not be wasteful but not discourage this play.
References
Early Childhood Development and Hutt Valley District Health Board. (n.d).
Developing Playgrounds in Early Childhood Environments. Retrieved on 21st March 2012 from
rvice/EstablishingACentreBasedService/~/media/Lead/Files/Establishin
g/DevelopingPlaygroundsGuide.pdf
Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. Wellington, New
Zealand: Learning Media.
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa : Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Santrock, J. W. (2010). Lifespan development: international student edition (12th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.
Image References
Problems and Follow up (2006). Sandpit maintenance. Retrieved on 21st March
n=Problems2006.SandpitM aintenance
