Children will happily engage in exploring and investigating of their own limitless accord if early years settings provide the basic tools for sand and water play, writes Anne O'Connor
Sand and water play has long been fundamental to good practice in early education. Sadly, it is not always available in reception classrooms. Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage points clearly to its value across the curriculum, particularly in developing children's knowledge and understanding of the world.
Children will be very inventive in the way they use sand and water (and related equipment) and as practitioners, we should take care not to be too prescriptive in how resources are used. Equally, we must be clear about the learning that can take place and plan effectively to make the most of children's experiences.
There are two important strands of Knowledge and Understanding of the World that are particularly relevant to sand and water play: exploration and investigation and sense of place.
Resources and activities
Water: exploration and investigation
Settings should provide:
- deep and shallow trays to accommodate different types of play and equipment and to encourage problem solving - for example, how do you fill a bottle from a shallow tray?
- a range of interesting and everyday containers, such as buckets, basins, pots and baby baths.
- a water tray empty of all other equipment gives children the opportunity to focus exclusively on the water and how it looks and feels, when pouring, splashing and stirring it.
- plastic kitchenware such as cups, spoons and jugs.
- items not usually associated with water play, such as mounds of Lego bricks or counters.
- objects that transform in water, such as sponge, paper, card and fabric, to encourage exploration of absorption and waterproofing.
- objects such as plasticine balls, boats, corks and pebbles, to encourage children to explore floating and sinking.
- water systems with canals that enable children to investigate locks and dams.
- buckets and bottles with holes in them. Encourage the children to watch the patterns made as the water flows from the holes or try to stop the water leaking out.
Water: sense of place
- Add shells, pebbles, rocks, foliage and small-world sea creatures for children to create watery environments.
- Add blocks, arches and planks to create bridges.
- Consider adding a potted plant or two to the centre of a water tray to make the environment more interesting. Keep the water level below the top of the pots and surround them with stones to help keep them from falling over. (Be prepared for possible damage to the plants).
Dry sand: exploration and investigation
- Provide trays of various depths and sizes to encourage children to solve problems and use sand in different ways - for example, transporting from one tray to another.
- Encourage the children to sift, stir and rake the sand (with equipment and/or their hands) so that they can explore the movement of sand and its calming effects.
- Provide an empty dry sand tray, to encourage the children to focus solely on the sand, its appearance and feel.
- Provide water wheels, so that children can explore forces and the way that dry sand can behave as a liquid.
- Provide magnifiers so that children can look closely at grains of sand.
- Organise treasure hunts by hiding objects or small balls of silver paper in sand. Add small painted stones and provide sieves for children to 'pan for gold'.
Wet sand: exploration and investigation
- Vary the amount of water that is available so that children can experiment. What happens if they keep adding water to the sand? What happens when they add ice cubes or warm water?
- Water changes the properties of sand and transforms it into a material that can be moulded, so provide an empty shallow tray in which the children can keep the moulds that they have created.
- Wet sand in a shallow tray can be used for tracing and drawing sand pictures. Add items such as pebbles, shells and leaves, with which children can make more elaborate pictures. Encourage the children to photograph their work. Sand and water: sense of place
- Draw on children's interest in the seaside and provide objects such as pebbles, shells and small-world toys with which to create sea scenes.
- Encourage the children to make miniature landscapes by moulding the wet sand to create mountains, hills, rivers and fields.
- Make tracks and roads through the landscape with your finger.
- Add natural resources, such as wood, stones and foliage.
- Add small-world people, houses and animals and features such as bridges.
- Encourage children to take photographs and draw plans or maps of their landscapes.
Organisation/adult role
To be effective, practitioners should:
- Be imaginative in the way they provide sand and water play outdoors and indoors. Use sand pits, paddling pools, sprinklers and trays of various depths and size and positioned at different heights.
- Be enthusiastic about sand and water play. Engage in it readily alongside children and provide role models.
- Share decisions with children on organisation, for example, let them have a say on what and how much equipment to make available.
- Motivate children to engage in clearing up by providing mops and brooms and be enthusiastic about regular sweeping up sessions.
- Be aware of health and safety issues and help children to take a responsible attitude to using sand and water.
- Be sensitive to children who are disturbed by water, getting wet or messy (or who have difficulties controlling their actions), and help enable them to engage in the activities appropriately.
- Mediate in conflicts and model negotiating skills.
- Ask open-ended questions, which encourage exploration and problem solving and empower children to reach their own conclusions.
- Observe carefully children's learning, motivations, schemas and personal interests to enable responsive planning.
- Involve parents in their children's developing knowledge and understanding of the world and raise awareness and understanding of the value of play.
- Support sensitively children with physical and learning disabilities so that they derive the same benefits from the resources as their peers.
