During the summer months we love to take advantage of the beautiful weather as we plan activities and curriculum that can be implemented outside.
The children in Toddler 2 have been very excited and eager to participate in outdoor experiences as we spend more time on our playground in the mornings.
From water play to painting, we are always looking for new ways to enhance the learning that takes place in our natural playground. Playing and engaging in experiences outdoors provides opportunities to connect with nature, improves physical health while also offering more opportunities for social interactions.
The possibilities of outdoor learning experiences are endless!
Over the course of the past two months we have engaged in numerous water-play experiences including a coloured foam activity where the children created their own foam with the use of soap pumps. Set out in our tuff tray were various sizes of cups and bowls along with some cloths, sponges and soap pumps. The children were then free to experiment with these materials as they could make their own coloured soap with the use on the soap pumps. The toddlers practiced their hand eye coordination and enhanced their fine motor skills when dumping and pouring the coloured water and while pressing out the soap. They absolutely loved engaging in play alongside their peers and children from the Toddler 1 class as they explored this sensory station. Throughout the activity, the toddlers identified what colours they were using as well as shared their thoughts and observations.
“It’s so pretty!” said Rose. “It’s a rainbow!” she added. Overall this experience fostered the toddler’s social development, nurtured their desire for sensory play, all while promoting cause and effect exploration!
Another activity that we engaged in outside was a nature search and find! The toddlers were challenged to find various materials in the playground that we could collect and count. Together the children collected rocks, wood chips, sticks and leaves and brought them over to the tuff tray. The tuff tray had circles drawn on with the numbers from one to ten inside. We worked as a team to count out that many of each material that we found!
This experience enhanced the toddler’s observation skills while also encouraging the use of their numeracy skills. Throughout the experience you could hear the children expressing their thoughts and observations. Here are a few quotes of what was said during the activity…
“Chips” said Rudra as he held up a wood chip. “Tree” he later added as he held up some pine needles.
“I have two leaves” said Lincoln.
“I found a big stick” exclaimed Mackenzie. “Come on Claire, let’s find more sticks! Can you help me?” he later asked.
“I found some leaves” said Millie as she held out a handful of yellow leaves.
“I found one!” shouted Anthony.
This was a fun interactive experience that fostered both social and communication skills as three programs of children explored the natural elements of our playground while working collaboratively towards a common goal.
