Friday Group - Sea Animals

Disclaimer: I didn't get to take as many pictures/movies as I wanted for this session as the two cameras I was using both ran out of batteries.

For Friday Playgroup I made a few small adjustments to the sea animal and water exploration. I took out most of the cellophane and I used watercolor to tint the water blue hoping that this would draw the children to explore the materials for a longer period of time. These adjustments did not make an impact on the children and they spent most of playgroup exploring the other areas of the play space.

Although Bryce, Theo, and Sebastien all spent time at the water table their explorations were brief and they would usually rejoin the exploration when another friend was at the table. In a way I want the children to freely come and go from the table as they desire but I guess the materials I presented them with in this session didn't spur on new discoveries. Not that every exploration has to bring about new discoveries as sometimes materials need to be explored over and over again in the same ways to be fully assimilated into a child's working knowledge.

Bryce found the shells and rocks the most interesting to explore especially because of the noise they make. He briefly checks out a manatee and chomps on a dolphin but it is the sound of the rock clanking together that really intrigues him.

Theo is so aware of those around him that he will sometimes begin an exploration only to stop to watch another child. I have countless videos of him grabbing an item and then watching as a friend explores something else. Theo begins to explore a piece of cellophane only to be distracted by Sebastien. Later he makes his way back to the table and takes interest in the shell and does some solo splashing!

Sebastien is infamous for bringing items into the water table and finds a long container to add to the water table. This gets a big "whoa" from him. He actually inspired the next and last water table exploration by making me think of how I could combine some of the items we've explored in the water during previous sessions with the sea animals to spark more interest.

Wednesday Group - Sea Animals

The water table this week was filled with sea animals, blue and yellow cellophane, and large stones and shells. Both Sebastien and Max we're only mildly interested in the experience. I don't know if the cellophane was distracting since it was floating on top almost hiding the animals or if the boys were just water logged since they both went swimming that day as well. My third theory is that they haven't had a lot of direct interaction with sea animals to really be interested in them. Books and perhaps a visit to the zoo but sea animals aren't as tangible as animals like dogs. I know as children grow older their fascination with larger than life animals like dinosaurs, sea and African animals becomes more evident in their explorations.

When Max first comes to the table he pulls out a few animals to show his father (a first time visitor to playgroup) but then is distracted by the big workout ball behind me. He works really hard to bring it down and is very excited when he does. However, he is distracted by Sebastien and a ball he brings over to the table. Right at the end of the video Max makes his sound for fish (watch for the wide open and closing of his lips) when he sees the penguin.

Sebastien begins interacting with the animals by moving, tasting, and splashing with them. This was the longest I observed him use the sea animals in his exploration.



Sometime later Sebastien brings one of the wooden cars over and has it go through his version of a car wash! Which includes some back and forth driving, banging up and down, and throwing.



Max did find the cellophane attention grabbing but it was also a little bothersome as it would stick to his feet. As one point he finds a piece away from the table and is prompted that he could bring it back to the table. He takes a few steps forward before he decides to crawl over and place it in the sensory bin. His satisfaction with himself is the first steps toward the development of independence. As toddlers gain more skills they take a lot of pride in the smallest accomplishments, Eirk Erikson called this the Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt stage of development. During this stage of development children develop a greater sense of personal control which leads to the development of their sense of self - who they are, what they can do, and how they are seen by others. It begins so young!

Friday Group - Dumping, Drinking, and Trickery Oh My

The Friday Group spent a lot of time dumping or drinking as much water out of the sensory bin as possible.

Dumping, Pouring, Shaking, and Splashing

The rim grab continued to be the most popular way to pour and dump water out. Sebastien even finds that shaking a container of water gets everyone wet as well as splashing it in the water. He's still trying to figure out how to pour water out without getting himself soaked. Bryce paid careful attention to where the water landed as he dumped it out. Even as he is dumping he notices the water trickling down his arm or splashing near his feet. He is beginning to put together the action of pouring and the result of displacing the water. Simply fascinating.

Drinking

Sebastien gave drinking a try but was still holding it by the rim so it made for an interesting maneuver. Kaia sipped (sometimes gulped) from every container over and over again.

Trickery

What happens when you go to drink from a cup but water showers down on you? Funniest moment by far was Kaia trying to get a drink of water from the cup with holes in the bottom and can't quite figure out why she's getting so wet.

Wednesday Group - Dumping, Pouring, and Splashing Oh My!

This week water play was enhanced by the addition of cups, spoons, funnels, siffters, and other items that can hold water. As the children explored these new materials I watched as they tried dumping, pouring, and drinking the water. As well as placing items in the containers and bring other items to the water.

Dumping, Pouring, and Showering Down Water

When children first begin to pour water they tend to either grab the container by the rim or by the sides with two hands. If they grab the container by the rim they usually will end up dumping water on themselves or to the side of the, like throwing water over one's shoulder. Watch as Sebastien and Max discover dumping, pouring, and showering down water!

Drinking Water

When a child grabs a container with two hands, like you do when you hold a cup, they end up drinking the water from the container. Zadie and Max know how this is done.



Bringing Items to the Water

I find it so interesting that Zadie usually gravitates to one item (mostly a ball) and keeps tabs on that item for most of the time she is at playgroup. This week a orange ping pong ball went with her each time she visited the water table and sometimes a spoon left the sensory bin in her other hand. Sebastien also brought a rhino to take a swim in the water and a string of beads into the table. Watch Max as he keeps trying to take the beads out while Sebastien keeps dragging them back in. When children bring different items to the water table, I think of them as little scientists trying out cause and effect, filing away their research of 'what happens when I add this item to water'.



Putting Items in Containers

Zadie encounters an interesting dilemma while experimenting with placing her orange ping pong ball in a cup full of water. Max spent most of his time at the water table trying to figure out how to fit the egg halves together. You could tell he understood that they went together but kept fitting them in one another. Both his mother and I demonstrated how the eggs went together and he did try but ultimately kept putting on into the other instead of filling them together.