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Water Play in the Nikau Ruma!
As the weather has been lovely and warm the Nikau tamariki have been loving our water play experiences. To expand on their current interests and promote discovery, we have been filling the water troughs with various items including sea animals, bubbles for sensory play, boats, and coloured water with dye.
Water play can be a fantastic way for children to explore and develop various skills. It helps children learn how to lift and pour objects, share and cooperate with others, and comprehend ideas like heavy and light, shallow and deep. It also helps them build their hand-eye coordination.
Water play enhances learning in all Te Whāriki strands. It especially helps with the Exploration strand, where tamariki learn strategies to actively explore, think, and reason while also gaining confidence in and control over their body. As part of the Contribution strand, water play allows tamariki to play with other children and help them develop important social skills. It also provides opportunities to practice problem-solving when conflicts do arise. Under the Belonging strand, they also form concepts on the boundaries and limits of acceptable behaviour.
It has been great to see the Nikau room outside in the sunshine enjoying getting in the water playing and learning alongside each other. The Kaiako have noticed our shy and timid tamariki coming out of their shell and being really engaged and involved with their peers in the water play activities provided. Water play has been a fabulous way for us to cool down on these hot summer days!