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
Hey Megan, I like how you talked about how some houses collect their water from tanks. Did you ask any of the children if their houses had a water tank at home? This could get them to connect home to the centre life which is important for the children. I like how you and the children both solved the problem together instead of you just doing it for them. This is a great skill that you have keep it up Megan. I have enjoyed reading your reflection and you have shown me you have observed a lot of learning the children have gained. What learning did you gain from this awesome experience with the children? You have made great links to literature. Well done for this great blog.
ReplyDeleteHi Megan
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea to put a tap closer for the children to use in the sandpit, but also getting the children to think about how this would occur, by getting them to help with the planning process. From your reflections it clearly shows you observed the children through this experience and could see a great deal of learning involved like the mathematical skills, and their fine motor skills. It was great how you noticed the water was being used to quickly so you got the children to think about how important water is and to use it in small amounts or when needed. It is a great way to teach the children about recycling water. Did you talk about the process of how the water gets in the tank? Through your experience with the tap, was there something that really stood out to you that you never knew before? Overall what a great reflection, I found it interested and it sounds like you and the children did too. :)
Megan, wow what a great reflection, I found your blog very interesting and it made me think about my own experience in the centre with the tap in the sandpit. This is a good non digital technology experience; I like how you have got all the links to literature to back up what you said. I like how you got the children to think about what they can do to have water in the sand pit, that itself is another whole learning experience, as some people still live with water tanks, that runs for their roof, you also have some good link between the New Zealand curriculum and Te Whariki. I can clearly see you have observe the children a couple times doing this and working things out for themselves, with pouring water over the tap or using two hands. It great to see you notice all the learning experiences that are developing. Megan Ka pai on a very well written reflection.
ReplyDeleteHi Megan
ReplyDeleteThis is such a wonderful non digital technology reflection on about using water within the sandpit. I really liked the way you firstly asked the children about ways of how they could catch the water for the sandpit. It is so great to see that you included them in such a fantastic experience instead of just doing it yourself. It showed me that you really valued and respected the children’s voices and input within this experience. I really liked the way you explained to the children about not using too much of the water as it would run out quickly. Did the children start to use less water after this? Do you think that this experience was a success with the children? Next time would you change or make anything different with the tank or the overall activity? Overall I found that this was a great reflection on the use of water within your centre. Well done.
Kia Ora Megan,
ReplyDeleteI really liked the way that you involved the children throughout this entire process of building the idea for creating a resource to solve the water problem in your sandpit. You encouraged their thinking and provoked many different ideas that would be beneficial for the children, as well as yourself as you supervise and engage in activities in the sandpit. You provided so much evidence in the form of references to back up what you were describing and the pictures painted a fantastic picture of the system that you and the children created. I wonder what other challenges you may have in the sandpit? I feel that if you are constantly reviewing you practice and resources, you may find new discoveries that you can implement and use your own problem solving skills to enhance. This was a fantastic reflection and I feel that I benefitted from your descriptions as we too would like to use something more resourceful and less wasteful in the way of water.