EXPERTS

In the day nursery group where I was on placement this year, I carried out a project as part of my course work, on the topic of “grasping water with all senses”, with four children aged two.
My goal was to get the children to deal more intensively with the element of water. It was important to me that the children's actions would take centre stage. They were to be able to act independently and experience this way that one's own actions produce an effect.
First the children had the opportunity to occupy themselves with water without any time pressure (sink and tap). Then I prepared a large tub with different materials for the next units (for example sponges, materials to pour into and out of etc.)
In good weather the units took place in the garden.
I could notice how appealing and exciting the element of water was to the children. It was difficult to conclude the project, as ever new opportunities to play presented themselves.
I also realised how important it is not to give any concrete instructions and to be available instead as a companion and a source of inspiration.

We had planted potatoes in our little kindergarten garden. Now it was time to harvest. Digging them up was like a treasure hunt to the children. Every single potato turned into a coveted treasure! Each one was marvelled at and acclaimed. When we had gathered all of them, we counted them together. 1...2...3... - 88! We had exactly 88! One child goggled a lot and asked: "What? You can just find potatoes in the ground? You don't actually need to buy them?" Then the children were keen to sort the potatoes by size and to examine their different shapes. Some were sooo tiny that you really had to look very closely to be able to actually recognize them as a potato.