Playing in Puddles

Today we played in puddles. When it snows, we play with snow, when it rains, we play in puddles. I remember doing this as a child and I think children do not get enough opportunities to do these things in today's fast paced world. We took out orange cones and blocked off part of the parking lot that had puddles from the mornings rain showers. The children took off their shoes and rolled up their pant legs. We talked about being safe (Paws Laws) and staying inside the area marked by the cones. We worked on skills such as jumping with two feet, following the leader, balancing on one foot, running, galloping and skipping. We also worked on expanding our vocabulary by describing how the sidewalk and parking lot felt on our bare feet (smooth, rough, bumpy, warm, cold). We talked about how the water felt (wet, cold, warm) on our feet. We talked about making splashes, ripples and footprints. This is an example of learning through play. Many cognitive, social, physical and language skills were explored and practiced during this play activity. Children learn best through play. They stay engaged longer, remember the skills better and expand on the activity independently far better than when they are just drilling skills or working on worksheets or flashcards. We hope these pictures help to give you a glimpse into the fun and learning we experienced today.

Getting ready to go play in the puddles.

Feet, prepare to get wet.

Footprints and Shadows

Ask open-ended questions like, "where does the rain come from?" and "where does it go?".  This encourages your child to use new vocabulary words, use more complex sentences and think and reason when answering your questions.  Open-ended questions are questions that cannot be answered with a "yes" or "no" response.



Ready, Set, Go!




Following the Leader



Friendships are often formed during the quiet times of discovery and exploration.

Puddles aren't just for your feet, sometimes you need to use your hands to really explore the world around you.

Poetry in Motion

Blast Off!

One of my favorite pictures of the day.  The purposeful stride of the child walks as he walks through the puddle exploring the world around him, the shimmer and shine of the sun on the water and the tree reflected in the puddle.  A child's world is truly a remarkable place isn't it?



Ripples in the water.  Ripples was one of the new words we learned today.  When you jump into the water circles will form around you.  It was neat to watch.



SPLISH, SPLASH.  These were fun words to use today.

Large Muscle Development

This looks like so much fun!  The children really enjoyed this part of the exercise.  The children were able to work on strengthening upper body muscles while propelling themselves under the cones.

This child is working on improving his balance by stepping from one colored cup to another.

Motor planning is required for the children to move a large ball through the tunnel using only their heads and not their hands.  This also promotes problem solving and thinking ahead.

Our occupational therapist, Ms. Deborah set up this really cool exercise for us last Tuesday.  The chidlren were so excited to do this activity.  They not only exercised, used their ability to think and problem solve, but they also reinforced their vocabulary by using the concepts of over, under, around and through.  Use these positional words often at home.  This helps them understand where things are in relationship to themselves and to the world around them.