WonderWorks: Water Works!

Tubes, funnels, tubs, cups, and water, oh my!

Today's Topic: Water Works!
Supplies:
funnels (I have the collapsible kind!)
measuring cups
Boon Pipes
Slinky Pop Toobs
plastic tubs
pitchers
water


Book:  
It's only Stanley / Agee, Jon


The inspiration for this class (or "what I thought kids might do"): make a modular water wall!


What the kids actually did: 
 scoop water from a tub (with a little tilting help from mom)

 pour water into tubes

 (it was a mom's idea to use the suction cups on the bath toys to stick them to the sides of the washtubs, but a great idea nonetheless!)

 pour through stacked funnels

 connect funnels, tubing and a bucket for a mini-water system

 use the tubing as a "fire hose" to put out the "fire" that was the red carpet below!

trying to connect these two pieces of tubing...

 making pretty bracelets!

 making stacks of circles

 light saber!

 an older sibling participant created this great pattern of Pop Toobs...

 .... then puuuulllllll to see how long they can make it.  This one stretched all the way across the room!

 They needed more space, so they stepped out back to the sidewalk and pulled it long there too:

 Then, this little guy saw what they were doing and wanted to get in on the action.  I love that he was so inspired by other kids!

 Not sure who twisted these, but I love the shapes all piled together like guts.  :)

 And I finally talked the two oldest participants to try to actually connect pieces to the "water wall" structure and try to create a water run.

 I love their creative solution to the leaks!

 And this little guy?  He just wanted to build ramps with blocks.  great idea!

 

We also explored the app Busy Water by Edoki Academy since it was so closely related to this project.

I also invited kids to create a "play story" at the end of their play and here's what they came up with.

(the block ramps)

 there were three siblings working together on the water wall at the end of class, this is the drawing of the youngest:

 the middle:

 and the oldest:

 Here are some other great Play Stories:

 (the firefighter's drawing)

 (the stack of circles)

 And... then there was this one:  :)

Adult Challenge of the week:  watch.  Try not to interfere or direct!

Hindsight Tip:  This would work MUCH better outside (and I would have gone outside if it hadn't been stormy), but if you need to do it indoors, just be prepared for wet floors.

Related Apps:  Busy Water by Edoki Academy

Please note: "Anji Play,” refers to a specific philosophy and comprehensive approach to early education developed by Ms. Cheng Xueqin in Anji County, China. I use the term "Anji Play" to describe my programming and throughout this blog with the explicit permission of Ms. Cheng because our programming has been developed as part of a close collaborative relationship with her and her team of Anji Play educators. If you are interested in learning more about how you can bring Anji Play to your community, please visit www.anjiplay.com