Today, when JX and I headed to the yard to water the plant as usual, I realized that the act of pouring water is a great way to improve toddler’s physical dexterity and hand-eye coordination. Since JX shows great interest in water play, I decided to let him explore the concept of sink and float.
First of all, I prepared a basin which was half-filled with water. Then I offered him some natural (stone, green beans, sticks) and man made (plastic toys, plastic spoon) objects for him to explore why certain objects sink in water and others float. I asked him questions like '” Why do you think the plastic ball, spoon all float but not the rock?” '” Why the green bean is so small but it sank?” The most interesting was the toy car which was first floating but then sank as it filled with water!
Children learn concepts such as empty/full, before/after, and heavy/light in a hands-on way. Small objects can be heavy and we shouldn’t judge the weigh of an object by its size. Besides, children learn new words that go along with water play, such as surface, bottom, float, sink.
Water play is fun and it delights toddler’s senses. There is no right or wrong in this kind of sensory play. Keep it interesting, active and hands on, especially for little kids.
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