SAND AND WATER PLAY

BY: ALONDRA GALINDO, BARBARA KRAEMER AND BEENA TAWARI

SAND AND WATER PLAY• WATER ACTS LIKE A MAGNET TO YOUNG CHILDREN, WHO ARE DRAWN TO THIS

SOOTHING AND ENJOYABLE MEDIUM• CHILDREN ENJOY THE SENSORY STIMULATION OF WATER BUT ALSO LEARN ABOUT

PROPERTIES OF WATER SUCH AS VOLUME, BUOYANCY, AND EVAPORATION• SAND PLAY IS ANOTHER MULTIPURPOSE SENSORY ACTIVITY THAT FASCINATES AND

ENTICES CHILDREN• SOME SIMPLE RULES ABOUT SAND AND WATER PLAY LET THE CHILDREN KNOW

THAT THE MATERIALS USED NEED TO STAY IN SPECIFIED AREAS TO PROTECT THE CHILDREN, THE CLASSROOM, AND CLASSROOM MATERIALS.

• SAND & WATER PLAY - PLAYDALE SCHOOLS & NURSERIES VIDEOHTTPS://YOUTU.BE/CGFS5PV-Y2Y (CTRL + CLICK TO FOLLOW LINK)

ITEM #1IN A SAND AND WATER CENTER, THERE ARE MANY ITEMS TO BE CONSIDERED WHEN OFFERING THIS ACTIVITY TO YOUNG CHILDREN.THERE ARE A VARIETY OF INDICATORS THAT INCLUDE:• PROVISION• TOYS TO USE FOR SAND AND WATER PLAY• VARIETY• TIME REQUIREMENTS FOR PLAY• DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES

PROVISION- STAFF HAVE MADE ACCESSIBLE THE EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS NEEDED FOR CHILDREN TO

BE ABLE TO PLAY IN SAND AND/OR WATER, IN A MEANINGFUL WAY (SAND BOXES, SAND PITS, VARIOUS TYPES OF SAND/WATER TABLES, DISHPANS, PLASTIC

BINS, TUBS, BUCKETSSAND BOXES

SAND/WATER TABLES

PLASTIC BINS/BUCKETS

TOYS TO USE FOR SAND AND WATER PLAY- SHOVELS, SCOOPS, TROWELS, MOLDS, RAKES, PAILS, SIFTERS, SAND/WATER-WHEELS, PIPES, INCLUDE ANIMALS, DINOSAURS, SMALL TRUCKS AND CARS, SMALL

PEOPLE, LARGE TRUCKS AND DIGGERS AND HOUSEKEEPING COOKING PROPS, SUCH AS POTS, PANS, PITCHERS, DISHES, BOWLS, CUPS, AND SPOONS)

SHOVELS/SCOOPSMOLDS, CUPS,

BOWLS TOYS

VARIETY- CHILDREN HAVE MANY DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPERIMENT, EXPLORE, AND LEARN

WHILE USING SAND AND WATER. VARIETY MAY BE REPRESENTED IN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TOYS, SUCH

AS USE, SIZE, TRANSPARENCY, SHAPE, COLOR, OR CHALLENGE LEVEL.

SIZE SHAPE COLOR

TIME REQUIREMENTS FOR PLAY- FOR AT LEAST 1 HOUR DAILY. SAND AND WATER PLAY MUST BE ACCESSIBLE INDOORS AS WELL AS OUTDOORS

1 HOUR DAILY INDOOR PLAY OUTDOOR PLAY

DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES- WATER: BUBBLES, ADD COLOR, SPONGES, SINK/FLOAT EXPERIMENTS, PLASTIC PIPES TO ROUTE

WATER. SAND: CARS AND TRUCKS ADDED, SMALL PEOPLE ADDED, SMALL ANIMAL TOYS USED.

BUBBLES/ WATER COLOR

CARS AND TRUCKS PLASTIC PIPES SPONGES

ITEM #2REPRESENTING DIVERSITY IN THE SAND AND WATER

PLAY AREA CAN BE AS SIMPLE AS BRINGING IN DIVERSE TOYS OR USING COLORS (SUCH AS FLAG

COLORS) THAT REPRESENT A CHILD’S CULTURAL

BACKGROUND.

ITEM #3WHEN CHILDREN HAVE ACCESS TO THE MATERIALS IN THE SAND AND WATER AREA, THEY WILL DEVELOP NEW SKILLS AND ABILITIES WHICH INCLUDE:CHEMISTRYMATHPHYSICSLANGUAGECREATIVITYSOCIAL SKILLS

CHEMISTRY: MIXING, VISCOSITY (SLOSHING

OR OOZING SUBSTANCES

*CREATE A STRATEGY BASED ON ONE

LEARNING VENT AND EXTEND IT TO A NEW

LEARNING OPPORTUNITY

MATH: COMPARING AMOUNTS, TEXTURES*EXPLORE MEASURING

TOOLS (E.G., MEASURING CUP, RULER, SCALE).

PHYSICS: SINKING/FLOATING,

ABSORBING/ REPELLING WATER, WATER ACTION:

RIPPLING, SWIRLING, DRIPPING, SQUIRTING

LANGUAGE: DESCRIBING ACTIONS,

EVENTS*CHILDREN ARE

LEARNING TO USE IMAGINATION TO CREATE

ORIGINAL THOUGHTS, IDEAS, OR PRODUCTS.  

CREATIVITY: INVENTING, EXPERIMENTING, PREDICTING,

TESTING, DISCOVERING* PARTICIPATE IN SIMPLE

INVESTIGATIONS TO TEST OBSERVATIONS, DISCUSS AND

DRAW CONCLUSIONS, AND FORM GENERALIZATIONS.

SOCIAL SKILLS: SHARING, PLANNING,

COLLABORATING-COOPERATE WITH

OTHERS

ITEM #4 • TEACHERS ROLE OTHER THAN PROVIDING MATERIALS

TODDLERS MUST BE CLOSELY SUPERVISED. PROPS SHOULD BE ROTATED TO MAINTAIN

INTEREST. VARIED MATERIALS ARE USED: WET SAND,

BUBBLES. (NO RED BEANS OR STYROFOAM) OUTDOORS, SANDBOXES MUST BE COVERED

WHEN NOT IN USE. AVOID RED BEANS. THEY ARE TOXIC, UNCOOKED! PROVIDING ACTIVITIES THAT STRENGTHEN HAND

GRASP (E.G., MOLDING PLAY DOUGH) AND OFFER OPPORTUNITIES FOR SENSORY EXPERIENCES

WITH MEDIUMS SUCH AS SAND AND CLAY.

ITEM #5DOMAIN: SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL

DEVELOPMENT • STRAND 1: RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS (P.50)• A11. COOPERATE WITH OTHERS.• STRATEGIES:• CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUCCESSFUL GROUP INTERACTIONS BY PROVIDING

ADEQUATE SUPPLIES, AND EXPECTATIONS FOR WORKING TOGETHER.• HELPING CHILD COOPERATE BY STAGING A COMMON GOAL SUCH AS MAKING MUSIC

TOGETHER OR GETTING SOMETHING DONE SO THEY CAN ENJOY THE RESULTS TOGETHER (E.G., ALL WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE A BIG HOLE IN SAND SO THEY CAN FILL IT WITH WATER.)

DOMAIN: APPROACHES TO LEARNING • STRAND 2: INITIATIVE AND CURIOSITY (P. 61)• B11.GROW IN EAGERNESS TO LEARN ABOUT AND DISCUSS A

GROWING RANGE OF TOPICS, IDEAS AND TASKS.• STRATEGIES:• MODELING PREDICTION-MAKING IN DAILY LIFE (E.G., “DO YOU THINK IT

WILL RAIN TODAY?”).• INVENTING AND CONDUCTING SIMPLE EXPERIMENTS WITH CHILD

(E.G., WHICH OBJECT WILL SINK AND WHICH WILL FLOAT).

DOMAIN: COGNITION AND GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

• STRAND 1: LEARNING ABOUT MATHEMATICAL CONCEPTS (P. 87)• SUB STRAND: MEASUREMENT• B6. EXPLORE MEASURING TOOLS (E.G., MEASURING CUP, RULER, SCALE) • STRATEGIES:• CHARTING CHILD'S CHANGES IN HEIGHT AND WEIGHT• PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHILD TO MEASURE SUCH AS PUTTING

MEASURING CUPS IN THE SANDBOX

DOMAIN: APPROACHES TO LEARNING• STRAND 3: CREATIVITY AND INVENTIVENESS (P. 62)• C3. DELIGHT IN FINDING NEW PROPERTIES AND USES FOR FAMILIAR

OBJECTS AND EXPERIENCES• STRATEGIES:• CREATING A SAFE ENVIRONMENT WHERE CHILD IS ENCOURAGED TO

EXPERIMENT WITH A VARIETY OF SAFE MATERIALS.• PROVIDING SAND AND WATER PLAY, GIVING CHILD OPPORTUNITIES TO

POUR, FILL, SCOOP, WEIGH, AND DUMP, UNDER ADULT SUPERVISION.• SUPPORTING AND ENCOURAGING CHILD’S CREATIVE PROCESSES,

PUTTING LESS EMPHASIS ON FINISHED PRODUCTS.

WORKS CITED• ECERS- THE EARLY CHILDHOOD ENVIRONMENT RATING SCALE – 23 SAND/WATER.

PAGES 231-235• ESSA, E. L. (2014, 2011). INTRODUCTION TO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION. 7TH

EDITION, WADSWORTH, CENGAGE LEARNING. BELMONT, CA.• ITERS- THE INFANT/TODDLER ENVIRONMENT RATING SCALE- 21 SAND AND WATER

PLAY. PAGES 271-278• MILESTONES OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT, LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT FROM BIRTH

TO KINDERGARTEN, OFFICE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT, VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, 2008. PAGES 50, 61-63, 67, 87, AND 102.

• WHITENER CAROLE. TCC COMMUNITY COLLEGE. MASTER STAR RATER VA. STAR QUALITY INITIATIVE. BLACKBOARD- READ THIRD- POWER POINTS FOR GROUP ACTIVITY PROJECT. PART II. SLIDES 13-17.

WORKS CITED CON’T.PICTURES RETRIEVED:• HTTP://WWW.LEARNING4KIDS.NET/2015/05/26/HOW-TO-MAKE-SAND-FOAM/    • HTTP://ONELITTLEPROJECT.COM/MOLDABLE-PLAY-SAND-RECIPE/• HTTP://WWW.LEARNING4KIDS.NET/2012/01/01/SENSORY-PLAY-WITH-SAND/• HTTP://WWW.THINGSTOSHAREANDREMEMBER.COM/PRESCHOOL-WATER-TABL

E-IDEAS/• BING IMAGE SEARCHVIDEO RETRIEVED FROM • HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=CGFS5PV-Y2Y&FEATURE=YOUTU.BE