Summer months are a great time for vacations! Yes, we had recently been away - a first for our family of 4 now. It was also one of our dayhome families' first time to go on a road trip.
When we finally met again, the three children namely Lana (9), H (5), and C (3) were talking about their favorite moments from their respective trips. Lana had a fun time in Disneyland and Universal Studios, she said. She loved the thrilling rides. Although she also mentioned how hot it was in California! H shared that they had a long drive but actually enjoyed it. They also stayed in a cabin. I asked if they went to the beach. C yelled, "Yeah!" I followed up with, "Did you take a dip in the sea?" He replied, "In the ocean." I agreed that ocean is another word for the sea. I asked my question again to which he said no. "Was the ocean cold or warm?" "It was cold," he responded. "That's why you didn't swim in the ocean because it was cold?" He nodded. "Did you play with the sand there?" "Yes, I made sand castles," C shared. Lana reacted, "I didn't get to go to the beach...I wish I could go there, too, because I haven't been in one." I asked, "What do we see in the beach?" Lana replied, "Well, I see in the photos that there's sand, water, sea shells..." H followed up with, "I remember seeing some small rocks." "Hmm, I might have some sand and rocks here," I said. "Oh, can we play with it, please," Lana requested.
When we finally met again, the three children namely Lana (9), H (5), and C (3) were talking about their favorite moments from their respective trips. Lana had a fun time in Disneyland and Universal Studios, she said. She loved the thrilling rides. Although she also mentioned how hot it was in California! H shared that they had a long drive but actually enjoyed it. They also stayed in a cabin. I asked if they went to the beach. C yelled, "Yeah!" I followed up with, "Did you take a dip in the sea?" He replied, "In the ocean." I agreed that ocean is another word for the sea. I asked my question again to which he said no. "Was the ocean cold or warm?" "It was cold," he responded. "That's why you didn't swim in the ocean because it was cold?" He nodded. "Did you play with the sand there?" "Yes, I made sand castles," C shared. Lana reacted, "I didn't get to go to the beach...I wish I could go there, too, because I haven't been in one." I asked, "What do we see in the beach?" Lana replied, "Well, I see in the photos that there's sand, water, sea shells..." H followed up with, "I remember seeing some small rocks." "Hmm, I might have some sand and rocks here," I said. "Oh, can we play with it, please," Lana requested.
The Provocation
This discussion spurred an interest that we can leverage on - beaches! H and C have a recent experience that they can share with the rest of the group. Lana's desire to visit one makes her enthusiastic about the topic. At her age, she is capable of doing her own research on the subject, as well. With all these in mind, I prepared a provocation with stuff that are readily available in the house:
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Observations
The two girls proceeded to play with the sand. They chose colors and worked parallel to each other. Later on, they tried to mix the two colors, Lana had white while H had pink. H said, "Maybe if we mix white and pink, we'll make light pink." Lana realized that nothing really happened when they mixed the colors. She noticed the spray bottles. She wondered maybe if they wet it, it might do the trick. She asked, "Can we wet the sand, Mom?" I replied, "Of course! You can do anything you wish with it." Later on, she got up and sprinkled sand in the small portable pool that had water in it. She told me, "The sand just dissolved in pool." |
Alex (20 mo/old) was working on the spray bottle. He sprayed everywhere! He sprayed water on the floor, on the girls, on their sand, on the pool, and on everything he came across with. He took notice of the rocks on the floor. He picked one. He looked at it, squeezed it, and walked with it. He walked along the pool and threw it in there. He smiled. He walked back to the basket, picked another one, and threw it in the pool. He repeated the activity until the basket was empty. He splashed the water inside the pool.
Lana called my attention and said, "Hey Mama, look! I made a table! Do you like it? Now I can look at the sand more closer." She took three different colors and placed one of each on separate wooden blocks. Alex watched his sister. He took some sand and spread it on one of the wood. He opened his palm and pressed the sand. |
The children were engaged in this activity for more than an hour. They left the materials for some time to play games like basketball and water spray. They came back to the sand play area every now and then.
Reflections
This activity provided children with high quality tactile experience. They used their hands to explore the sand. Tactile experiences allow children to develop their fine motor skills. Along with it, cognitive, social, and emotional domains are being developed, as well. Smaller children learn from older ones through modeling (social); creativity is being fostered (cognitive); language is exchanged and discussions widen their vocabulary (cognitive); and as children create structures and make new discoveries, they develop their self-concept and confidence (emotional).
In the succeeding activities carrying the same topic, I would add more materials like seashells, shovels, rakes, and pails. During our outdoor walks, we can pick up natural objects that we can add to our play like fallen twigs, leaves, pine cones, and the like.
In the succeeding activities carrying the same topic, I would add more materials like seashells, shovels, rakes, and pails. During our outdoor walks, we can pick up natural objects that we can add to our play like fallen twigs, leaves, pine cones, and the like.