Water Play

Activity Overview

An essential experience for young children is to explore all sorts of textures and materials in our world. Water is a common, everyday element, and part of our sensory foundation is understanding how it works, feeling comfortable manipulating it, changing it’s properties, and adding materials to it.

What You Need

• A medium size container for the water to be housed in (a large bowl, a rubbermaid container, a roasting pan or whatever container works for you - maybe even a bathtub!)

• Towels

• Plastic cup

• Plastic bowls

• Whisk, mixing spoon, eggbeaters, funnels, tubes, eye droppers (scour your kitchen cabinets for ideas!)

Steps

1. Fill the container of your choosing about one-third of the way.

2. Add various materials and allow your student to enjoy and explore!

Guiding Questions

• How does the water feel?

• How can you make waves? A waterfall?

• What could we add to this water?

Extensions

• Use a larger container and put it in an area where the student can move around it. Be sure to lay towels around the base to protect your floor.

• Add dishes, plastic baby dolls, sponges and clothes and the students can learn to give a baby a bath.

• Give animal toys a bath or give toy vehicles a car wash.

• Start by filling various cups or containers with colored water, and allow your student to explore combining them in the larger container.