Sand and Water
Presented By: Lindsey Smith, Early Childhood Specialist
www.cloud.edu/childcare
888-527-8680
Cloud County Community College Early Childhood Resource & Referral Agency
1
Objectives
 Connect sand and water experiences
to child development.
 Discuss open and focused
exploration of sand and water.
 Discuss appropriate learning
environments for sand and water
play.
 Understand how to support
children’s learning through sand and
water play.
Cloud County Community College Early Childhood Resource & Referral Agency
2
The Creative Curriculum®
 Fundamental Beliefs











Building a trusting relationship with each child
Providing responsive, individualized care
Creating environments that support and encourage exploration
Ensuring children’s safety and health
Developing partnerships with families
Observing and documenting children’s development in order to
plan for each child and the group
Recognizing the importance of social/emotional development
Appreciating cultural, family, and individual differences
Taking advantage of every opportunity to build a foundation for
lifelong learning
Supporting dual language learners
Including children with disabilities in all aspects of the program
Cloud County Community College Early Childhood Resource & Referral Agency
3
The Creative Curriculum®
 The Foundation: Theory and
Research
 Developmentally Appropriate Practices
 Theoretical Influences





Abraham Maslow
T. Berry Brazelton and Stanley
Greenspan
Erik Erikson
Jean Piaget
Lev Vygotsky
Cloud County Community College Early Childhood Resource & Referral Agency
4
•Sand and water are natural
materials
•Open and Focused Exploration of
sand and water enhance a child’s
development
•Sand and water experiences are
more than just sensory experiences
•What does sand and water look
like to you? Cloud County Community College Early Childhood Resource & Referral Agency
5
Observing Sand and Water: Focused
Exploration
 Purpose of Focused Exploration
 Give children opportunities to investigate specific questions in depth
 Give children support, materials, and time to deepen exploration
 Principles of Focused Exploration
 Exploration has a specific focus (water flow, water change,




sink/float)
Outdoor experiences used to heighten awareness
Books and visiting experts will stimulate interest
Two and three-dimensional representation used to support
reflection
Talking about specific experiences and relating them to science,
nature, etc.
Cloud County Community College Early Childhood Resource & Referral Agency
6
Observing Sand and Water: Focused
Exploration
 In small groups:
 Explore the properties of plain water.
 What happens when you add drops of
food coloring?
 What happens when liquid soap is
added?
 How did the water change?
Cloud County Community College Early Childhood Resource & Referral Agency
7
Observing Sand and Water: Open
Exploration
 Purpose of Open Exploration
 Give children opportunities to wonder, notice, and explore
 Give children support, materials, and time to explore
 Principles of Open Exploration:
 Introduce children to exploring and playing with water



Engage-talk about experiences
Explore-freedom to choose exploration or not
Reflect-ask about experiences
 Ongoing exploration and reflections



Introduce new materials
Acknowledge water play…ask probing questions
Encourage reluctant water playing by using walkabouts
Cloud County Community College Early Childhood Resource & Referral Agency
8
Sand and Water: More Than Just A
Sensory Experience!
 Social/emotional Development
 Creating a structure with others
 Soothing an agitated child
 Emotional expression through play
 Physical Development
 Fine motor strength
 Hand-eye coordination
 Gross motor strength through carrying
Cloud County Community College Early Childhood Resource & Referral Agency
9
Sand and Water: More Than Just A
Sensory Experience!
 Cognitive Development
 Scientific exploration (open and focused)
 Observation, classification, comparison,
measurement, capacity, volume
 Problem-solving
 Understanding texture, dry » wet/wet » dry
 Cause and effect
 Language Development
 Descriptive words (grainy, wet, shallow,
sprinkle, etc.)
 Literacy skills (writing letters in the sand)
 Question and answer with caregiver
Cloud County Community College Early Childhood Resource & Referral Agency
10
Part I Summary
 Children enjoy playing with sand and water.
 Children can use both open and focused exploration to
learn more about sand and water.
 Props allow children to experiment more with sand
and water, thus promoting each area of their
development.
 Caregivers should interact during sand and water play
to promote learning and development.
Cloud County Community College Early Childhood Resource & Referral Agency
11
• Sand and water play should be offered both
indoors and outdoors.
• Offering sand indoors provides children with a
more controlled environment, while offering it
outdoors allows for less structured play.
• The best way to identify an appropriate sand
and water environment is through the eyes of a
child.
Cloud County Community College Early Childhood Resource & Referral Agency
12
Setting Up the Sand and
Water Area
 Where
 Near a water source
 On washable floor or an area that an be easily covered
 Materials
 Sand and water table, Rubbermaid bin
 Water (room temp. or warm)
 Sand (finely textured white sand that is sterilized is
recommended)
 Smocks (if necessary)
 Tools (droppers, rakes, funnels, measuring cups, scoops,
sponges, shells, feathers, egg beaters, buckets, etc.)
Cloud County Community College Early Childhood Resource & Referral Agency
13
Part II Summary
 Sand and water play should occur within close
proximity to one another.
 The sand and water area should be inviting to young
children and materials should be accessible.
 Rotate materials to maintain the interests of the
children.
 Sand and water play can be messy and the best
environment is one that has easy access to supplies to
clean up-even child-sized so the children can help
with clean up.
Cloud County Community College Early Childhood Resource & Referral Agency
14
• Children will go through different stages as
they explore sand and water
• Teachers should respond appropriately to
support learning and development
• Children will approach sand and water
experiences by using their senses to
become more familiar with the purpose of
the materials being used.
Cloud County Community College Early Childhood Resource & Referral Agency
15
Three Developmental Stages of
Sand and Water Play
 Functional Play (Exploratory Stage)
 Use senses to become familiar
 Sensory experiences lead to acquired information
 Constructive Play
 Acquired information and knowledge are applied
 Activities are more intentional
 Dramatic Play
 Extension to constructive play
 Experimentation with what works vs. what doesn’t
 Children use imaginations to incorporate sociodramatic elements
Cloud County Community College Early Childhood Resource & Referral Agency
16
The Teacher’s Role
 Use sand and water observations to assess developmental
areas
 While observing, consider:
 Are props being used for dramatic play or to conduct
experiments?
 Does the child play alone or with others?
 Is play being offered indoors and outdoors?
 Does the child select their desired props/materials or are
they already out?
 Support children during sand and water play by asking
questions and interacting with individual children and
the entire group.
Cloud County Community College Early Childhood Resource & Referral Agency
17
Activity
 Make predictions about shapes that may or may not
float.
 Use modeling clay to create a shape that you believe
will float.
 Test buoyancy of the shapes you have made in the
water tubs.
 Note what shapes float and what shapes don’t.
Cloud County Community College Early Childhood Resource & Referral Agency
18
Objectives for Sand and Water Play
 A rich activity helps children of various
developmental stages to work on
objectives.
 Reflection of your observations during
sand and water play reveal how to
create a rich activity.
 What investigative experience can you
offer to enhance completion of
developmental goals and objectives?
Cloud County Community College Early Childhood Resource & Referral Agency
19
Section III Summary
 Use observation to guide learning and understanding.
 Follow-up observations with reflection about the
activities offered.
 Are they engaging children?
 Do they promote all areas of development?
 Do they allow for provider-child interaction?
 Use rich activities to provide the best opportunities for
learning at various levels.
 Support children’s learning through interaction, engaging
in play, asking questions, encouraging exploration
Cloud County Community College Early Childhood Resource & Referral Agency
20