Help with mealtimes

Finding mealtimes challenging with a toddler/preschooler? Well, you are not on your own! I thought I would just share a little something that we find helps us.

When working as an Early Years Practitioner, I learnt that children need rules and guidelines to help them on their learning journey. Mealtimes are a perfect example for coming together with your child and drawing up a few simple things that are expected. 

Who can play?

Children aged 2 years and above, depending own their age and stage of development.

What do you need?

• Paper/card
• Felt tip pens
• Area to display mealtime rules
• Cello tape
• Ruler  

What did we do?

Bee and I sat down at the dinner table and talked together about things that we do at Lunch, snack and dinner. I tried to focus on what we do rather than what we do not do, to make it a positive experience.

We then put our ideas in order of importance, for example wash our hands first, to make our hands clean and germ free. We then talked about the importance of being safe at the table, as we sit on our chairs and use our utensils in a safe manner. Another important point that Bee thought we had to include was to "try our food with leaves" Well, promoting healthy eating is also important!

When writing our ideas on the paper, I invited Bee to write some of her ideas. The wrote some recognizable letters and said that "We should be good and drink our water

                                     

Finally, we talked about helping to tidy up afterwards. Getting your child involved in this not only helps you, but also gives them a sense of ownership, a role within the family and promotes self help skills. 

The final product is on the wall, near our dining table, for future reference. You will probably have to keep referring back to the mealtime rules chart, but at least it is something that has been drawn up together as a team. Good luck!

What did we learn?

• Communication and language- Discussing ideas, Speaking and listening
• Physical development- Fine manipulative skills when writing and discussing healthy food choices
• Personal, social and emotional-Learning social skills and self help
• Literacy- Providing an opportunity for a writing experience.
• Mathematics- Ordering rules
• Understanding of the world- Learning about mealtime rules
• Expressive arts and design- Designing a mealtime poster together

What could be done next?

• Make mealtime place mats
• Involve your child in the setting up of the table, so that they can learn where the knives, forks and spoons go
• Let your child help wash th
  
  
  e dishes after mealtimes (as long as there are no sharp objects in the sink) You will find that the dishes may not be squeeky clean, but they will love feeling helpful and playing in the bubbles/water.

Weaving ribbons in the park

On a recent trip to the park, we had the bright idea, to weave some rainbow ribbons on the railings. It found to not only be a fun and physical activity, but a social one too!

Team work when pulling the ribbon together

Who can play?

Children from the ages 2 years+ depending on their age and stage of development. For younger children make the lengths of ribbon thicker but shorter, say 5 inches, so that little fingers can maneuver them.

Safety:

When using the ribbon be careful of choking. When working as an early years practitioner, the recommended length was 8 inches. Be conscientious when using the ribbons at the park, for example if younger children are playing near by just in case they wish to join in. 

What do you need?

• Ribbons of various colours, long enough to weave in and out of the railings.
• Railings 

What did we do?

Firstly, I placed the ends of the ribbons on the railings, ready for the children to weave if they wanted to. As soon as Bee and her friend A saw them, they began to explore.

They showed a lot of fine manipulative skills as they would try and push the ribbon in and out of the railing and wrap them around one another, to try and form a knot.

Intricate weaving

                                               

They also displayed large manipulative development as they pulled the ribbons.

Pulling the ribbon with all her might

It was interesting watching the dynamics of the relationship of Bee and A. At first they worked on their own section of the railing, respecting each others space. Eventually they worked together in the centre of the railing on the same piece of ribbon, showing social skills. They talked about what colour ribbon they were using and if their ribbon was long or short.

Weaving together

                                 

The girls showed good team work as they both pulled the ribbon tightly. They both seemed to love doing this action.

Heave ho!!

                                 

This is the end product! As you can see the children successfully weaved the ribbons in and out of the railings and experimented with direction.

Work of art

                                 

What did we learn?

• Communication and language- Talking about what they are doing. Listening to advise and instructions from friends.
• Physical development- Fine and large manipulative skills and hand-eye coordination when weaving in and out of the railings. 
• Personal, social and emotional- Making relationships, social skills, fun and enjoyment, self help and pride from finished product.
• Literacy- Weaving left to right (learning the directional skills of writing)
• Mathematics- Developing a concept of space and directional language such as under and over. Discussing length of ribbons (short/long)
• Understanding of the world- Playing in the outdoor environment. 
• Expressive arts and design- Creating patterns with the ribbons and talking learning about colours.

What could be done next?

• Found pieces could be weaved into the ribbons, for example twigs, leaves etc.
• Weaving on a smaller scale can be done on a cardboard frame.

Helping your child become an independent dresser

I thought I would share some of my ideas on how I am trying to encourage my child to be an independent dresser. For some time Bee, has wanted to pick out her own clothes and this can sometimes take a very... very...very...very...long time, with a lot of "I can do it!" being said.

I have found the solution to our little challenge. The night before, we go through what we are going to be doing the following day, for example, if we have preschool, ballet etc. Once we have done this the decision can be made on what she wants to wear. When she has chosen her clothes we hang them up on her pegs and the job is done! As soon as she wakes the next morning, our clothes are ready and waiting. There are always other 'morning' challenges to deal with, but at least this is one we can check off our list.

Who can play?
Children aged 2 years+ depending on their age and stage of ability.

What do I need?

• Furniture that stores your child's clothes
• Paper
• Felt tip pens 
• cello-tape

I chose to laminate the labels for the drawers, so that they last longer. You can always type out the labels on the computer and take real life pictures of the clothes, so that they are more recognizable than my drawings

 :-)

What did we do?

To help Bee find her items of clothing and encourage independence and decision making skills, I needed to adapt her bedroom furniture. This is how her set of draws looked before.

By adding pictures/photographs of the items inside the draws, Bee can now clearly see what items are in each draw. I made sure that the items of clothing were sorted into separate drawers, for example pj's, socks, underwear, tops and pants. On a piece of paper I drew these items and wrote what they were on top the picture. The last thing I did was laminate and stick them onto the draws.

 Bee now loves choosing her clothes in the morning. She looks at both the pictures and words and is trying to segment and blend the letters.

Even just a simple idea as this can develop so many areas of learning. Read on to find out what areas are being developed.

What did we learn?

• Communication and language-Talking about what she is going to wear. Listening to where she is going the following day and making choices based on this and following instructions 
• Physical development- Fine and large manipulative skills and coordination when opening/closing draws and picking out clothes. Developing physical skills such as pulling up her own pasts and using fasteners such as buttons or zips.
• Personal, social and emotional- Developing self help skills and independence. Also learning to ask for help when needed. Putting their clothes away after is also a self help skill
• Literacy- Linking sounds to letters, learning how to read, blending and segmenting words and learning that print carries meaning.
• Mathematics- Counting the draws, finding two socks that are the same. Learning about patterns on clothing.
• Understanding of the world- Developing and learning about her role within the family, for example, it is now her job to find her clothes, but if she needs help Mum and Dad are always there. Learning about her body and which items of clothing goes where.
• Expressive arts and design- Creating her own style, learning about what items of clothing she feels go together. Designing her own outfit.

What could be done next?

• Label boxes that contain toys etc, so that the independence can continue with in the playroom.
• Have a spotty, stripey or different colour day, so that your child can try and pick out the clothes to match the theme.
• Once the clothes have been washed, ask your child to help you put them away. This is a great sorting activity and will also be helpful for you.

The smoothest banana and avocado smoothie

Due to the success of our banana, blueberry and beetroot smoothie, I decided to sneak a bit of avocado into Bee's diet. Did you know that an avocado is a fruit, due to having a seed, is high in potassium, can be used to substitute butter in baking and high in protein?? For more information on the benefits and uses of avocados Huffington Post has more details.
                                

The end result... yummy banana and avocado smoothie.

Who can play?

Children aged two and above can help cut and measure out the ingredients, however, this depends on their age and stage of development.

What do I need?

• Blender
• Jug/container to store the smoothie
• Glasses and straws
• Chopping board
• Blunt knife
• One banana
• Half an avocado
• One tablespoon of honey
• Ice cubes
• One cup of milk (either cows, almond or goats)
• One cup of coconut water

The ingredients

Safety:
Please be aware that the blades on the blender are extremely sharp. Read the instructions, before use. Adults should operate the blender.
Children should be supervised at all times and ensure that the knife that cuts the bananas and avocado is blunt, so as not to cut skin.

What did we do?
After washing our hands, we set about exploring the avocado. Predicting what the colour was going to be like inside and if it had a stone or not. Bee said it was going to be green and no stone...as you can tell by the look on her face, she was surprised to find one.

Surprised to see a stone in the middle of the avocado

 We removed the stone and washed it. We are planning to grow our own using the stone. For more information on growing your own avocado thehungrymouse.com  has an easy step by step guide.
Next we removed the flesh from the skin and began to slice it.

cutting up the fruit

                                                 

We also couldn't resist a little nibble...well it is healthy after all

Next, we chopped up the bananas and placed them in a bowl.
To begin the blending stage, we added the wet ingredients first to the jug and then the ice and fruit. After a minute of blending it was done. All that was left to do was pour and enjoy! It was seriously the creamiest and smoothest smoothie I have ever made. It was that good we took it to a friends house to share!

What did we learn?

• Communication and language- Talking about the changes they are seeing and what they taste, feel and smell. Listening to instructions.
• Physical development- Fine manipulative skills when cutting etc. Learning about foods that make our body healthy.
• Personal, social and emotional- Joining in with an activity and accepting the help from others when needed. Self help and knowledge of germs when washing hands before the activity.Taking turns
• Literacy- Developing fine manipulative muscles when cutting the fruit (developing grip to hold and manipulate a pencil)
• Mathematics- Measuring the liquids and splitting the avocado in half.
• Understanding of the world- Learning about technology (how the blender works) and temperatures when adding the ice to the smoothie.
• Expressive arts and design- Creating your own smoothie

What could be done next?

• Pour the mixture into ice lolly molds and into the freezer, for a delicious cooling treat.
• As mentioned above, try to grow your own avocado. Children will love watching it grow and you will enjoy not having to buy an avocado from the store (you do have a long wait ahead though to reap this benefit)

Rainbow pens

After seeing so many rainbow crafts on the internet, the idea came to me to attach felts tips together that were the colours of the rainbow. Bee loved this idea and enjoyed making rainbow patterns on her paper.

Product of the rainbow pens

                                     

Who can play?
Children aged 2 years plus. Depending on their age and stage of development

Safety:
Chose non toxic, washable pens.

What do you need?

• Red, yellow, pink, green, orange, purple and blue felt tips
• Cello-tape
• Paper

What did we do?
Firstly we had to attach the felt tips together with the cello-tape. This proved a little bit tricky for Bee, but with a bit of assistance we managed it. We ordered the felts in the order of the rainbow song:

Red and yellow and pink and green.

Orange and purple and blue.

I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow too.

Felt tip pens attached together in the order of the rainbow colours... excuse the pink and blue pens...they were the only ones I could find :-)

Bee, held onto the pens and dragged them across the paper, from one side to the other. At first the paper would move, so she asked me too hold it still whilst she moved the pens. When she reached the other side, she looked so pleased with herself and said "look mum, I made a rainbow!"

Bee starting her rainbow picture with the rainbow pens...

...and finishing it at the other side of the paper.

She was really happy with the finished product. She also sorted all the lids, so that they matched the corresponding pen.

Her rainbow picture

This activity encouraged Bee to draw her own rainbow later that day.

Drawing rainbows free style

 I also designed this rainbow to encourage Bee to develop not only her colour recognition, but pencil control too. She has not used it yet, but I place it in her writing area, for when she is ready.

Pencil control rainbow

What did we learn?

• Communication and language- Talking about the colours that she sees. Recalling personal experiences of rainbows.
• Physical development- Fine and large manipulative skills, hand-eye coordination.
• Personal, social and emotional- Asking for help when needed. Feeling pride from finished product.
• Literacy- Drawing from left to right, therefor developing the skills used for writing.
• Mathematics- Trying to space out the lines on the rainbow, so that they do not touch. Matching the correct coloured lids to the pens.
• Expressive arts and design- Creating rainbows with felt tip pens and attaching them all together to make a rainbow. Learning about colours.

What could be done next?

• rainbows with pasta, play dough and beads
• Making rainbows with primary coloured paint.
• Provide pictures to the drawing/writing area for inspiration
• Make rainbows outside with the hose pipe or water sprays.

Making rainbows with pasta, pony beads and play dough

After a heavy down pour over the weekend, it was so lovely to see a beautiful rainbow. It was my daughters first ever rainbow and she was so interested in it. We talked about why rainbows happen for example sunlight passes through the raindrops and this causes it to separate the sun light into its individual colours. For more information about why rainbows, eo.ucar.edu has more details.

The next day, I saw happyhooligans.ca  activity, using dried spaghetti, pony beads and play dough. I knew Bee would love this as it was following her interest and would build on her experience of seeing the rainbow the other day. Thank you happyhooligans.ca for your idea and inspiration.

Who can play?
Children 3 years and above, depending on their age and stage of development.

Safety:
Small beads can easily be stuffed up noses or swallowed, so supervision is required at all times.

What do we need:

• Three tubs to contain the items needed for this activity
• Dried spaghetti at different lengths
• Rainbow coloured pony beads
• Green play dough
• Rainbow template

What did we do?

Firstly I set up the activity and left it on the table before lunchtime. Sometimes I find this a good idea to do this, as it can keep them occupied as you 'try' to make a meal (if they are not involved in making it with you)

I wanted to see what she would do with the equipment without direction.

                                  

When she saw the activity she went straight for the play dough, manipulating it with her fingers and pushing it onto the table. 

Picking up a piece of dried spaghetti, she poked holes in the dough.

                                  
 "Look Mummy" she said "I have made a face, with hair, cheeks, eyes and a nose" She said it was her little cousin.

                                  

Next she popped a piece of spaghetti in the middle of the dough and said it was a lollipop. Bee made one for me too and as we pretended to eat them, mine snapped "never mind" she said" I will have a small one too" and snapped hers in two, so it was the same size as mine.

We played with the dough and the spaghetti for a while and Bee made some models, by pushing lots of spaghetti into the dough. Bee said her model was a mouse.

                                   

Bee then spotted the beads and began to thread them carefully onto the spaghetti, saying "better be careful not to poke myself up the nose" She showed a lot of concentration and would count the beads as she would post them on.

                                                

Next, so began pushing the beads into the dough, making patterns. Then we played hide and seek with the beads in the dough.

                                   
                                   

I was surprised when Bee decided to put a piece of spaghetti in the bowl of beads and pick one of them up. "I'm fishing" she said "wanna play it with me?" How could I refuse?! She would carefully place her spaghetti into the centre of the pony bead and tilt it back, making the beads go down to the end.

                                   

Towards the end, Bee looked at the rainbow template. She talked about the colours and said that she could match the beads to the correct colours.

                                   
 We sang the rainbow song:

Red and yellow and pink and green.

Orange and purple and blue.

I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow,

Sing a rainbow too.

The also said the rainbow poem:

Richard of York, gave battle in vain.

When tidying the activity away, Bee spent a few minutes snapping the spaghetti into little pieces. She commented on them getting smaller the more she snapped them.

This activity lasted quite a while and Bee showed a lot of interest and concentration. 

What started off as what I thought was a rainbow threading activity, turned into so much more. Just goes to show if you allow children to play and experiment they will use their creativity and explore.

What did we learn?

Mathematics- Counting pony beads. Learning about long and short when breaking up the spaghetti

Communication and language- Discussing what they are doing.

Personal, social and emotional- Searching for someone to share their experiences with. Fun and enjoyment.

Physical- Fine manipulative, such as pushing, pinching and manipulating the dough. Developing hand eye coordination when placing the pony beads onto the spaghetti.

Understanding of the world- Talking about members of her family.

Literacy- Developing the skills to hold a pencil when picking up the small beads in a tripod grip.

Expressive arts and design- Designing her own pattern with the pony beads. Making models and creating faces. Singing the Rainbow song. Making up her own games.

What could we do next?

• Make rainbows out of play dough
• Thread beads onto pipe cleaners if your child gets a bit frustrated with the spaghetti breaking
• You could also add a different variety of threading tools to this activity, such as wool, sticks etc.

Measuring Rainfall

Why not add a scientific spin on a rainy day? Yesterday it was raining 'cats and dogs' so we decided to measure how much rain fell in one day.

                               
Who can play?
Children aged three years and above. All activities depend on the age and stage of development of the child.

Safety:
When around water you should always be careful of the risk of drowning.

What do you need?

• Jug, bottle and cup to collect rainwater
• Separate measuring jug to measure the rainwater in all the containers.
• A very rainy day
• Paper and felt tip pens to record the findings

What did we do?
The conditions were perfect for a rainy day experiment, so at 7.30 in the morning, Bee and I placed a jug, cup and bottle outside on the patio. We talked about how much rain they would collect and Bee's answer was "4" I think this was because she will be four next birthday. All that was left to do was wait until 6.00 in the evening to check the results.

Half way through the day, Bee noticed that the bottle had been blown over. This led into a discussion about the powers of the wind and rain and that sometimes it can even blow down trees etc, Bee's reply was "Like the big bad wolf?"... maybe a bit more powerful than that. She enjoyed going back to the window, where she could view the containers, to see if the water level had risen.

                                   

Just after dinnertime, we collected the containers from outside and Bee carefully poured each container of rainwater in the measuring jug. We looked at the numbers along the side of the jug. Whilst running our fingers up the jug we counted the volume.

This was then recorded on the Rainfall chart (a raindrop for each fluid ounce) 

Rainfall chart

                                 

Bee looked so proud that she could count up to 16 and draw the correct amount of raindrops. I asked lots of questions such as "Which container collected the most rainfall" and "why do you think the jug collected more water than the cup?"

Bee recording her findings on the chart

                                    

The chart once it had been completed

                                 
At the end of the activity, she asked if we could do this again tomorrow... so we did. The day after had a lot more rain,which was great as we compared our findings from yesterday. Bee said "It rained lots today"

                       

What did we learn?
Creative: Drawing raindrops.Responding to what they see and feel, providing their ideas and thoughts
Physical: Fine manipulative skills when holding and drawing with the felt tip pen. Hand eye coordination when pouring the liquid from one container to the other.
Mathematical: Measuring and learning about capacity. Counting. Record using a tally chart.
Personal, Social and Emotional: Joining in with an activity and cooperating with someone else. Developing competence and independence when pouring out the liquid from one container to the other. Fun and enjoyment.
Knowledge and Understanding of the World: Exploring and finding out about weather conditions.
Communication, Language and Literacy: Recording findings. Talking about what they are seeing and doing. Making raindrop marks on the paper (as Bee is not ready to write number forms yet) Listening to and following instructions.

What could be done next?
On a hot day you could do the experiment the other way around and add water to the containers and see how much evaporates.

Stinky Turkey

                                         Stinky Turkey-Activity for the senses 

Who can play? 

   Children aged 2+

What do I need?

• Paper
• Glue sticks or school glue 
• Crayons or felt tip pens
• Herbs such as cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin spice.

Safety

As always, young children need to supervised. 

Explain to children that you need to gently smell the herbs and spices before the activity begins, otherwise it will go up their nose. Hold the spice jar around two inches away from the noses of younger children.

Have a small dust pan and brush close by, to clean up any spills.

What did we do?

First and foremost my daughter, Bee and I had lots of fun and enjoyment. 

To start, I drew a simple turkey's head and body in the centre of the paper.

Sitting around the table we both drew around our hands. 

We talked about the noises that turkeys make. I was quite surprised that she knew it said "gobble gobble"... Maybe we have been doing too many turkey crafts this year.

We had a little chat about what part of the body we smell with, and then set about smelling the festive herbs and spices. We talked about how to smell the herbs, but Bee made a rookie mistake and sniffed too much, resulting in a bit of the cinnamon going up her nose. After a quick sneeze and rub of the nose, we had another chat about smelling them slowly and gently. Bee said that most of them smelt like cake.

Once she was happy with the herbs/spices she liked, we began to apply glue onto the handprints. Isabella seemed to really enjoy shaking the small tubs of herbs/spices and quite a lot came out. If I was to carry out this activity again, I would probably attach a piece of sellotape over the top of the tub of herbs/spices and puncture a few holes in it, so that it restricts the flow (this is also a good tip when using glitter)

Once dry, the Turkeys were placed on the 'fridge' of fame for all the family to see. Bee was very excited to show it her Dad when he got home.

What did we learn?

Knowledge and understanding of the world- Asking questions about the herbs. Develop a sense of   

smell and think of ways to describe them.

Mathematical- counting fingers when drawing around them. Trying to keep the glue inside the hand 

print, therefore learning about space and measurement. 

Personal, social and emotional- Sense of pride and achievement at the end of product. Quality time 

with mum. Making decisions on which herb she likes the best.

Communication, language and literacy- Using new words to describe the smell of the herbs and 

spices. Learning the names of the herbs and the noise that turkey's make.

Creative- exploring new materials and designing their own turkey.

Physical- Developing fine manipulative skills, by shaking the spice/herb jar. Learning body awareness 

such as hands and finger. Holding the pen in a tripod grip (thumb and middle finger pinching the pen, with the pen resting ontop of the middle finger)

Follow up activities

If you all enjoyed this activity, here are some more ideas to delight your senses.

• Add herbs and spices to salt/play doh. 
• Add cotton wool inside clean socks and place herbs/spices into it. Tie firmly at the top with either an elastic band or bobble. Ask the children to smell the sock and describe what they smell and guess which herb/spice it is.

Online Chinese New Year Resources

I try to incorporate Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) into Bee's day and today it came in the form of a sequence game on the website, www.topmarks.co.uk

Firstly, we watched the dancing dragon video, which can be found on: http://www.topmarks.co.uk/chinesenewyear/dragondance.aspx 

We made our own dragon dance to the Chinese New Year music (by putting a blanket over our head whilst walking and dancing underneath it) Bee found this hilarious and after dancing for around 10 minutes, I decided it was time to play a maths game, before I passed out.

We then played The Dragon maths game that can be found on:

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/ordering-and-sequencing/chinese-dragon-ordering

The object of the game was to order the dragons body parts according to the numerical order. I chose the numbers 1-10 for Bee, but this all depends on the age and stage of your child's development. It was easy to follow and encouraged her to recognise, organise numbers and count.

The website says that the game can also be played on the whiteboard (great for pre-schools/schools)

We really enjoyed exploring this site and would definitely use it again.

Racing Leaves

Another day of rain, means another day of wet fun!  Growing up in England, I have been no stranger to rainy days, so today whilst playing outside with my daughter, I remembered a fun game I used to play as a child. Sailing a boat made out of paper along the gutter on the edge of the road. For environmental reasons, we substituted paper boats for an organic version... leaves.

Who can play?

Children aged two and above, depending on their age and stage of development .Due to this activity being close to the edge of the road, I would recommend it only for children who can listen/follow instruction and be safe.

Safety

As mentioned previously, this activity uses the guttering next to the road, so children should only play this on a quiet street and be supervised at all times whilst being reminded of road safety.

What do I need?

• Waterproof clothing and boots.
• Leaves and twigs
• A good downpour of rain

What did we do?

Firstly, Bee pointed out the water running down the street. We had had a big down pour overnight and all morning, causing the water in the guttering to flow really fast. I asked her why the water was running down the street and she told me it was because it was raining, which was true, but I also pointed out that the street was on a hill, making the water run down from the top to the bottom. The next question was what did she think would happen if we dropped a twig in the water, she replied " It will float" Bee picked a twig up from the floor and held it in the water, swishing it around "Look mummy" she said "the twig is making the water go funny and move". Next she dropped it in the flow and surprisingly it did not float away.

I then asked her to look for things she thought were light enough for the water to carry.  Finding a small leaf, she gently placed it on top of the water. her little face was a picture, when she let go and watched it float down the street. She looked so excited and followed it on its path.

After doing this for around five minutes, she invited me to join in with her play and race our leaves together. On the count of three, we let go and followed our leaves on their journey until the end of the block.
                                             
                                                 

Half way through the play, we had a blockage in the path of the water. We talked about why that had happened, for example some bits of tree bark were too big and heavy and were collecting at one point. Bee commented on the water moving around them, but quickly removed them, ensuring that her game could carry on. We also discussed, how the water flows into the drains and then out to sea, so that was why it is important to make sure we do not throw litter in the drains.

We spent twenty minutes playing this game and experimenting with the water. Bee enjoyed her new experience and I enjoyed a trip down memory lane.

What did we learn?
Personal, Social and Emotional: Enjoying trying new experiences. Fun and enjoyment. Independent thinking.
Creative: Creating her own game. Problem solving on her own.
Mathematical: Counting. Learning concepts of weight, such as light and heavy. Knowledge of directions, for example the water flowing down the street.
Knowledge and Understanding of the World: Becoming interested and curious in the world around her.Exploring nature and its forces. Developing science concepts such as floating and sinking. Learning how to be safe at the roadside.
Communication, Language and Literacy: Making small movements in the water with the stick (developing pre-writing skills) Listening to and answering questions. Talked about what she was seeing and doing.
Physical: Fine manipulative when picking up objects with forefinger and thumb and placing them in the water.

What could be done next?
Due to Bee's high level of involvement in this activity, I am going to invest in some plastic guttering and make our own stream in her water tray. You could also make some boats out of paper or card and sail them in the bath, using either your mouth or a straw to blow them.