Play on a Hot Summer Day

Just like every season Summer presents us with unique play and learning opportunities. On this particular day we decided to bring coloured ice cubes (we coloured the water with food colouring in the tray before freezing it) to the hot pavement in the front yard. Along with the ice cubes we brought out a container of water, and water droppers. I shared my excitement with the toddlers as we got our supplies ready and shared the task of carrying them outside together. We set everything down and then I flipped over the ice cube tray spilling the ice all over the pavement.

The Beginning of the Process

The ice immediately began to melt allowing the colours flow over the warm pavement. The toddlers slid the ice back and forth creating puddles of colours that soon began to mix together. I noticed them looking at their hands as they too had colour on them and were starting to get wet.

The droppers were not used much at first as the main interest seemed to be touching the ice and watching the colours melt together on the ground. It wasn't until some of the children began to put the ice into the container of water that the droppers became a focus point. They used their hands to mix the ice into the water, and then sucked water into the dropper. Then the water was squeezed onto the ground once again.

The "Uh Oh" Moment

There was one little girl in particular that was really enjoying mixing the water and ice cubes together with her hands. She got so excited that the water container spilled and all the contents emptied into the crevice between the pavement and the grass. She looked at me and said, "Uh oh! Spill!" I pointed to the water and said, "What can we do?" She jumped into action and got a dropper and began sucking up the water into it. The other children almost immediately joined her in her efforts. Nobody was upset that the water had spilled, which I think could have been easily swayed if my reaction had been anger instead of curiosity. Responding with curiosity opens the door to joyful learning, whereas anger and frustration may shut the door completely.

Connecting with the Tree

The same girl who has spilled the water now had another idea. She ran with her dropper to the lawn and began watering the tree. She ran back and forth from the puddle to the tree. When I asked what she was doing she told me the tree was hungry. We had recently talked about plants and what they need to survive, so this answer made sense as it was information that was fresh in her thoughts. Something we have been focusing on is thinking of ourselves as nature, and what that means in our work alongside the children. Something I keep reminding myself when observing the children is that their connection with nature is so much closer than mine, and that it's imperative for me to look to them as a source of guidance of how to regain that connection. This moment the girl had with the tree was a kind reminder of how we can understand what the world is telling us if we take the time to listen with an open heart and an open mind.

I hope this post helps you in your interactions with children in your care. If you'd like to have a conversation, or have any questions feel free to reach me through the contact form on the main page of my blog. Thanks for reading!