A lovely spring day - 10th September 2021
Spontaneous:
It was such a beautiful sunny morning, so Emily and I decided to set up a fun activity for the children. We found a tub and some bath gel we filled the tub up with some water then with the help from Michael and Hunter. We poured in a small sachet the children chose the blue one, in it went and immediately it reacted to a sludgy foam. Hunter and Michael put their hands in first "Ewe" was Hunter's reaction, "Oh yuck" said Michael pulling a face. Mikaere put his fingers in at first, I was not sure if he liked it or not. Ruby was not having anything to do with it she just sat on the side as an onlooker. Jenayah is always a willing participate and found her way to the tub. The mixture was still too thick, so we decided to add some more water this enticed Emily and Neveah to join the group. Neveah loved the mixture feeling it then slapping the gel to make a mess. Emilia and Jenayah at one stage put their feet into the mixture feeling the gel on their toes. Emily said this is fun. Hunter and Michael ran up and down the slide then would come and feel the mixture then off they would go again. Baby Hunter as the children call him found his way over to the mixture his face was priceless, he touches the gel then looked down at his hands then up at me as I was laughing this made him smile. He went back for another go this time he loved it splashing and banging his hands in the gel, but it didn't go down too well with the others as it went on their clothes and face, the children said "baby Hunter stop" he just continued so they let him be. Hunter S loved the gel so much he ended up sitting in the gel with Jenayah who found a doll to wash with him. After a while we found another tub and filled it with water so the children could wash off the gel and play on the slide. Mikaere was playing with the gel then suddenly, he decided to sit in the gel with clothes and all he loved it. Hunter.H and Michael noticed him and decided join in that game, so they too sat in the gel. Then Hunter.H got up and went to the slide and of course going down a slide when you are wet and slippery makes for a very slippery ride. Hunter.H went down fast then got up and said, "Man that's fun". Michael and Mikaere joined in this play with the boys having a wonderful time jumping in the gel then off again to the slide for a fun ride down.
Link to Pedagogical Documentation
EYLF Outcomes
Outcomes: 5: Children are effective communicators Elements: 5.1 Children interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes. Children interacted verbally and non- verbally in this experience as they felt the textures through their hands and feet.
Theorists
This learning experience can be linked to Vygotsky's theories. He believes that social interaction plays a major role in the development of children and that they involve communicating. He emphasised the role of language in the development of the child's thinking processes.
Interpretation
Critical Reflection: The idea of today's experience was to one let the children have some fun using the bath gel by touch and sight. Educators were using teaching strategies to teach the children about reactions of how it instantly turns a liquid into a solid or at least into a slushy solid. With Squishy gel the powder is super saturated with water, so it goes beyond a solid and becomes more of a goo. The main ingredient in Water Gel is sodium polyacrylate. It absorbs from 800 to 1000 times its weight in water and is actually the secret ingredient that's used to absorb "liquid" in baby diapers. This experience went really well with the children using their imagination on how to play with the gel as was seen in the Hunter and Michael play here they found that putting the gel on their clothes made going down the slide much faster. Follow up: To add water to the mixture to see if it dissipates
