Activities

Using the sensory center, provide an ice cube tray, a cup of water, a medicine dropper and small objects that will absorb and repel water such as small pieces of wood, facial tissue, tissue paper, writing paper, paper towel, Unifix® cubes.

Lean a long aluminum pan or tray against a wall. Secure it so it won't slip. Spray water at the top of the pan. Have the children watch the water form beads at the top, then run down to the bottom of the tray.

Add books to the reading center about water such as A Fish Out Of  Water by Helen Palmer and The Water Cycle by Rebecca Olien.

Make a set of water bottles with graduated amounts of water. Use food coloring to make the water levels easier to see. Seal the bottles with duct tape. Ask the children to choose two of the bottles to compare and tell you which has more water.

Prepare water bottles by making several small holes around the bottom with a push pin. Fill the bottle with water and attach the cap. During outdoor time, the children can squeeze the bottle or unscrew the lid to watch the water squirt out.

Cover a table with a plastic tablecloth and place white butcher paper on top in the art center.  Provide a small bowl of watercolor and a medicine dropper for each child to create an abstract art piece.

Fill four plastic bags with water. Freeze two ahead of time. Have the children describe the differences between the bags of ice and bags of water. Have the children drop the bags into a bucket. Describe the properties of frozen and unfrozen water.

During outdoor time, provide a large tub of water and containers of different sizes.

Fill a spray bottle with cool water, and set it on a mist setting. Carefully mist the infant's hands over a tray. Encourage the infant to rub his/her hands together. Say, “You're touching the water. The water feels cool.

Provide paintbrushes of various sizes, buckets, rollers and water.  Have the children work in pairs to paint the sidewalk, playground equipment and building with water.  Encourage them to work together and decide how to paint the various structures.

Provide the infant with a small amount of water

on a plate or small tray and encourage him/her to play in the water. While he/she is splashing, talk about what he/she is doing and identify some characteristics of the water.

Fill the sensory center table with water and water toys such as plastic boats, ice cubes, cups, small squirters, small balls, sponges, magnifying glasses and plastic fish.

Freeze water in containers of different sizes and shapes and compare. Talk about how the water froze in different ways because the containers were different.

During outdoor time, create puddles using large containers of water. Encourage the children to find out what happens to water when they use their hands to hit water puddles. Talk about how one big puddle turns into droplets of water.

Place drops of water on a plastic tray. Play Handel's "Water Music" and encourage the infant to splash the water.

Place a few water wheels in the water/sensory table along with measuring cups in different sizes. Pour water in the table. Before the activity, talk about the children's prior experience with the water wheels.

Read Water Dance by Thomas Locker. During large group talk about how water falls, drops, flows and runs. Play classical music for inspiration while the children dance, creating their own “water dance” using scarves and ribbons.

Arrange a series of glasses and bowls in a row on the table and fill them up with increasing or decreasing levels of water. Every glass or bowl should have a different water level.

Watercolor brushes are smaller and require more fine motor control than regular-sized paintbrushes used at the easel.

Take watercolors and paper outside. Encourage the children to paint various shapes with watercolors, during outdoor time.