I know it's freezing outside at the moment but I have been dying to try out this idea inspired by some training I received from Rachel Baker, founder of Imps Creativity and facilitator of Creative Imps Workshops. Like many of Rachel's play ideas, it was ridiculously easy and cheap to set up and loads and loads of fun!
The night before I needed it, I put some cold water and blue food colouring in a tupperware tub and put it in the freezer over night. In the morning I came down and emptied it into a builder's tray, placed a hammer in it and waited for George to find it!
The first thing George said when he saw it was "I'm not allowed to touch Daddy's tools Mummy". I explained to him that it is fine to use Daddy's tools as long as myself or Daddy are around. He still wasn't convinced so I picked up the hammer, smashed it against the ice and asked him if he'd like a go. Well, he didn't need asking twice. He took the hammer from me and using his gross motor skills, smashed down hard on to the ice!
A few smashes with the hammer and the ice broke in two. George told me this and seemed rather impressed with himself and rightly so I would say. It's great to see it when he has a sense of pride in himself.
After a few more smashes, the ice broke in to more pieces, George then began counting the big pieces.
After counting all the lumps of ice George told me "There are four pieces now Mummy" and held up four fingers to show me. It's great that he independently incorporated some problem solving in the form of counting into his play.
Daddy's drill was on charge in the next room so I went and got it. After showing George how to use it, he then had a go himself. You can see how hard he was concentrating by the fact his tongue is sticking out!
He became quite curious about the ice, asking questions about how it is made and what it's for. He began looking at individual pieces and examining them up close.
After asking me lots of questions about ice and discovering that it can be melted with hot water, he wanted to add some to the tray and see for himself.
Before giving him the jug of warm water, I explained to George that he needed to hold it firmly and pour the water out slowly. Informing him of how to complete the task before he did it, reassured me that he would carry it out carefully and therefore enabled him to do it independently. I feel it is really important to let a child take risks. When it is assessed before hand and completed in a controlled environment, a lot of learning can be achieved.
George decided to bring his boats down from the bathroom and add them into his play. He has now turned this 'scientific' play into imaginative play through small world resources.
After a while he asked me for a spoon, I gave him one and he began spooning some into the jug.
He began narrating his play. The water soon became medicine and he sang "Miss Polly had a dolly who was sick, sick, sick". Reciting familiar songs not only uses his memory skills, it also stimulates learning in the area of communication, language and literacy.
By now quite a bit of the ice had melted and this really intrigued George. He inspected it again and talked about how it was getting smaller and smaller as it was melting. This sort of language shows that George is gaining some knowledge and understanding of the world.
This play incorporated all six areas of learning and development of the Foundation Stage. Knowledge and Understanding of the World, through looking at ice and the effects the warm water had on it. Physical Development, through using the tools and manipulating them to do as he wanted. Creative Development, through the imaginative play with the small world toys. Communication Language and Literacy, through the narrative play and singing. Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy, through counting the pieces of ice and finally, by having a sense of pride in himself, he showed that his Personal, Social and Emotional Development was thriving.
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