Oh, A-Sailing We Will GO

My backyard is a very muddy place these days and so there are many play areas that are not accessible at the moment.  Today I wanted to do a project that the children could play with outside to take the place of some beloved play areas.  Since we have a large digging pit, turned mud lake, my husband suggested making boats.

My mom is the ultimate donator of materials that she reclaims from everyday life.

If you need corks, egg cartons, glass jars, trays, ect., my mom is the one who will get it for you!

So, with the corks she had saved up for us, I hot glued three of them together, and then the children painted them with acrylic paint.

Next the children were given a piece of craft foam to make their sails.

The sail being drawn above is for a "Princess Ship."

And Below is the "Kitty Boat" in the making.

This sail is; "bugs, and the other side is kitty heads that are going to eat the bugs."

 I stuck a skewer through the sail and into the cork raft.

I  placed one of our sensory bins on the light table and added water, so we started our sailing fun inside. 

Looks like the "Princess Ship" is in peril as the "Fittle Bom-Fo" boat is quickly

approaching.

As fun as the bin was, the prospect of taking them outside was more enticing.

The children placed their boats in the "mud lake" or "mud soup" area, but had to stir the water a bit with our hockey sticks to create a current.

They found another boat launch in the water filled sand box.

They worked surprising well and will make great bath toys.

Water Ways and Marble Runs

 

Alas, the days of summer are coming to an end, however I think our days of water play will continue on for a while.  One of our favorite things this past summer which I wanted to blog about before we start school next week, was creating water ways and marble runs with tubes, PVC pipe and water noodles.  Turkey basters, rain barrels and marbles made there way into the fun as well.

When the children came into the school space, I had placed an assortment of materials

on a table as an invitation to explore.  Immediately they began attaching pipes, picking their favorites and asking questions.  "What are we doing?" "We are going to play with water!" "How can I attach this."

Our exploration started inside before the introduction of water

 

 

We then picked a spot to set up our water ways outside.

Once the children were satisfied with their creations,

 I simply tied their constructed water ways up on the deck railing. and the exploring took off.

 

 

Some tested gravity by seeing if they could squirt water up the tubes

 

Others asked for marbles and filled turkey baster bottoms with them to pour down the pipes

 

Water or marbles, which one will travel faster down the water ways?

Marble soup also became a delectable part of the play.

 



 

Our water play continued on for the rest of the summer.

One day while I was helping another child on the swings, I came back to find this construction

which I absolutely thought was brilliant.  The children had connected pool noodles

with the thin plastic tubes and realized they could attach it to the rain barrel.

They then fastened it into an empty water jug.

I was so impressed and in love with this.  It is amazing what they can discover and

create when left to explore together!



 

Making sure their connections are secure

Monitoring the progress to see if the water will make it into the jug.

Waiting for the the water to journey to the jug.  Will it make it?

It did!

 

I love this type of play.  It incorporates creativity, team work, problem solving, exploring and fun!

The children continued to play with different configurations all summer, often with one group making water ways using the rain barrel and another creating marble runs with the PVC pipes and larger tubes.  It became something we all looked forward to!