PLAY IT COOL

Why we value water play

Splash! Spray! Sprinkle! Squirt!

Do those familiar sound remind you all about the fun that we used to have when we were kids? There is no doubt about how much fun water play can be, but do you know how much this activity benefits our kids?

Obviously, children can enjoy playing with water for hours, and you will be surprised at the level of creativity and imagination it brings to our little ones. Those are hours of rich and valuable early childhood experiences. Water play not only engages children’s sense of fun and delight, but also benefits the young learners with their physical and social development. Now you know why it is one of the most popular activities in early childhood education 😊.

Wait, but does it require lots of effort and resources to set up a water play station for kids? Nah, sometimes, what you need is simply a running hose at a suitable location.

At BCA, being inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, we consider the environment as an important teacher to our children. We believe that engaging with the environment or using natural resources to play is a great way for kids to understand the world around them as well as to know their abilities to influence or change things. That’s why we encourage our children to find things around them to play with water. Guess what? They never get bored! 😀

Now let’s name some of the benefits of water play to the young ones:

1. Develop hand-eye coordination:
Pouring, squeezing, stirring, or even splashing water all require children to learn about directions, sizes and how much force to use. Isn’t this a great way for them to improve their sense of accuracy and control?

2. Introduce math and scientific concepts:
Water is a perfect medium to demonstrate volume or weight as well as provide a great mean to learn numeracy and literacy.
How much water do you need to fill up this cup? Is the bucket full, half-full or empty? What would happen if we pour a cup of water into a full bucket? Can you count how many bucket do we have here? Questions like those above help kids develop their problem-solving skill, encourage them to think and understand how things works.

3. Enhance concentration and focus:
We have been seeing our kids completely immersed in the water-related activities for hours. And guess what? Some of them even cried when they couldn’t negotiate for an extra minute to play 😀

4. Develop motor skills and sensory exploration:
Let’s build up some muscles by squeezing water out of a sponge or tighten those legs by running around splashing water at each other. And how about using some soil to make mud or adding a little bit of soap to have even more fun playing with the bubbles?

5. Build social and communication skills:
Water or many other forms of play is more fun when it becomes a group activity. This requires kids to work as a team, teaches them to learn about sharing or taking turn. And how do they acquire those skills? Definitely through communication. So, let’s spend some time starting up a water play station for your kids at home. All you need is a bucket or a container full of water, some toys, a bit of soap or even paint to make it more colorful. Now, sit back and listen to your children’s laughter 😊

Comments

I’m really happy that We made a table to play with water so that the kids can use it more often and conveniently.

Lee Jeongnam, Admission Team

More Stories

Subscribe

Sign up for original stories, educational resources, events, and more.

Thank you for your message. It has been sent.
There was an error trying to send your message. Please try again later.

Subscribe

Sign up for original stories, educational resources, events, and more.

Thank you for your message. It has been sent.
There was an error trying to send your message. Please try again later.
2021-11-12T17:47:11+07:00
Go to Top