Deep dive into water play

Water play is a form of messy play that involves children interacting with (any form of) water through their play. Water is an open-ended resource, meaning the provision isn’t usually intended to have a specific outcome or instructions to follow. It allows children to explore and create with endless possibilities as to what they can do. This might look like… 

• a factory line

• a magical potion

• a garden 

• a delicious new soup

• a building site

• a wonderful medicine

• a mysterious fishing place

• hot lava.

Top tips for keeping play flowing 

• Keep it open-ended to encourage imaginative play.

• Ask questions about what is happening to extend thinking. For example: how do they use the resources? Can they find new ways to explore?  

• Allow children to mix other resources and materials into their water play to inspire creative thinking and problem-solving skills. We can dry things off afterwards.

Practical uses: How can you use water play in practice?  

Communication and language 

Encourage communication by tasking children to create a waterway that carries water from one place to another.

Experimenting 

Provide a variety of resources to allow children to experiment with pouring, scooping and filtering.

Fine motor skills 

Use tweezers and nets to catch all the items and clean up the sea! (This kind of activity helps to develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination) 

Creative thinking  

By providing a variety of everyday items, like spoons, sieves and funnels, to encourage pretend play and imagination.

Mathematical understanding 

Use differently shaped containers to develop mathematical language around shapes, sizes, and colours.

Sensory exploration 

Add ice cubes to warm water to explore the changes in temperature. You can use paint to create coloured blocks and help children to visualise the melting process.

Keep it open-ended

As tempting as it is to plan a specific and intricate provision, the open-ended nature of water play can create unexpected treasures of learning opportunities. So, go with the flow and see what happens next…  

Why not give these activities a go and share your experiences on the forum?