With weather really pleasant as of late, the invitation to play outdoors is often too tempting to refuse. We are spending most of our days in the garden lately and I love it! Makes such a difference having an open space to burn off energy and have fun!
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I have been working hard to provide some really stimulating activities for the children
We've had Giant Bubbles:
Frozen Water Beads:
Today I wanted to offer something a little different, linking to water play. The boys can't get enough of water play so I wanted to make it really fun and sensory for them and Neve who were all out together playing.
I'm also keeping in mind activities that can bring them altogether to play alongside one another. It's all great at helping to improve their social skills and their relationships amongst each other.
Lots of activities can work and appeal across age ranges and here is one that we did today - A Fruit Sensory Bin with coloured water.
You will need:
Under Bed Storage Tray
Fruit
Knife to chop (Adults)
Containers
Utensils
Chop your fruits up so children can explore the patterns, marks and pips. Chopping in different directions may give the children a different view and texture to explore.
To extend the play afterwards you could use the fruits to stamp in paint and mark make with! You could add them to the drawing table and have the children drawn what they can see. Or if you are doing this activity on a small group/one to one basis you may want to allow them to prepare the fruit to eat afterwards.
My 3 enjoyed snacking before, during and afterwards. The lemons were not a hit so we used them to make our own lemonade afterwards. Waste was minimal yet all this fun and sensory exploration had been had.
Please note it is paramount that all activities you do with children are suitable. Take into consideration any allergies they may have as this activity would not be suitable for everyone.
The children were over instantly, wanting to explore all that was on offer. It was completely taste safe so although I sat back observing at all times, I didn't need to step in when the fruits were put up to their mouths.
Sitting close by I could smell the citrus scent filling the air - the perfect smell for a lovely sunny day!
We spoke about what we could smell, see, taste and how the fruits felt.
The children spent quite some time picking the fruits up out the water and running their fingers over them. I heard lots of describing words from Neve.
We spoke about the colours we could see and whether or not we could see any seeds or pips on/inside the fruit. It led us on to talking about what seeds we can eat and which ones we don't.
I asked what we could do with the seeds/pips which was another great talking point. From there conversation led to where the supermarkets get their food from and now Neve would like to visit a fruit picking farm to go and get her own.
I'm also thinking of leading onto a Farm Topic.
Farm Tuff Tray and Role Play Area
Farm Activities in Early Years
Little Red Hen Small World
To extend the play afterwards you could use the fruits to stamp in paint and mark make with! You could add them to the drawing table and have the children drawn what they can see. Or if you are doing this activity on a small group/one to one basis you may want to allow them to prepare the fruit to eat afterwards.
My 3 enjoyed snacking before, during and afterwards. The lemons were not a hit so we used them to make our own lemonade afterwards. Waste was minimal yet all this fun and sensory exploration had been had.
Please note it is paramount that all activities you do with children are suitable. Take into consideration any allergies they may have as this activity would not be suitable for everyone.
The children were over instantly, wanting to explore all that was on offer. It was completely taste safe so although I sat back observing at all times, I didn't need to step in when the fruits were put up to their mouths.
Sitting close by I could smell the citrus scent filling the air - the perfect smell for a lovely sunny day!
We spoke about what we could smell, see, taste and how the fruits felt.
The children spent quite some time picking the fruits up out the water and running their fingers over them. I heard lots of describing words from Neve.
We spoke about the colours we could see and whether or not we could see any seeds or pips on/inside the fruit. It led us on to talking about what seeds we can eat and which ones we don't.
I asked what we could do with the seeds/pips which was another great talking point. From there conversation led to where the supermarkets get their food from and now Neve would like to visit a fruit picking farm to go and get her own.
I'm also thinking of leading onto a Farm Topic.
Farm Tuff Tray and Role Play Area
Farm Activities in Early Years
Little Red Hen Small World
The children started to make fruit towers and challenge one another to build a bigger tower. It hadn't even crossed my mind to stack them in this way.
This is the beauty of setting an activity up and leaving them to it and observing from a distance. Children lead their play and learning naturally and it gives you a great insight into their ability and how they process and respond to challenge.
You can use this information to plan more activities.
There was lots of scooping of the coloured water and sucking it up using the pipettes. I wondered how long it would be before this happened. They were fascinated as the water changed colour before their eyes.
As the different colours were poured in that sat in the water and it wasn't until there was swishing of their hands that they began to mix together fully.
I coloured the water by using Wilton Food Colouring. I brought the set around 12 months ago and despite using it lots and lots - I still have so much left! I use a cocktail stick and dip it in the colouring to achieve the results above. You need the smallest amount! I couldn't recommend them enough. You can see them on Amazon here - UK/US.
After a short time had passed by, Neve noticed that the fruits were beginning to absorb the food colouring.
Two of them stayed playing at this activity for over an hour - that is a serious Mom win. Especially for Reuben who at almost 2 years old has a short attention span.
They gathered up the water containers and began to fill them with the water and fruit.
They were making all sorts of concoctions. It appeared that the more swishing that went on the more the scent strengthened.
Lets take a look at this activity in action:
We had so much fun! I am already thinking of lots of other fun and exciting things I can offer the children to develop their natural sense of curiosity and wonder.
Be sure not to miss anything from us by:
Following us on Instagram
I always share things there first, and quite often some ideas don't always make the blog. So come and follow us.
Join our Facebook Community - Learning and Exploring Through Play Group
We quite possibly have the best community group on Facebook. Looking for inspiration, advice? Want a place to share your ideas and activity set ups with like minded people?
Subscribe to us on YouTube
See all our activities in action via our channel. We throw in a little family life too so you may just find out a little more about the family behind Learning an Exploring Through Play.
Be sure not to miss anything from us by:
Following us on Instagram
I always share things there first, and quite often some ideas don't always make the blog. So come and follow us.
Join our Facebook Community - Learning and Exploring Through Play Group
We quite possibly have the best community group on Facebook. Looking for inspiration, advice? Want a place to share your ideas and activity set ups with like minded people?
Subscribe to us on YouTube
See all our activities in action via our channel. We throw in a little family life too so you may just find out a little more about the family behind Learning an Exploring Through Play.
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