At Tops Day Nurseries, a number of our settings have introduced water walls into the gardens. By giving children the opportunity to transport water through a variety of different containers, tubes and bottles it is helping them to develop mathematical, science, physical and many more vital skills. Water play fosters learning in all developmental areas. It provides opportunities for children to experiment with math and science concepts, strengthen their physical skills, advance their social and emotional skills, and enhance language development. Children will learn the difference between empty and full, greater than and less than, as well as counting and measuring.
We have seen the fascination in children when playing with water and watching it run down to the container at the bottom, taking notice of the speed the water travels at and the difference between putting lots of water through the apparatus compared to a little water.
Water walls are easy to make and great fun to play with!
What you need:
- Empty plastic containers such as drinks bottles or milk cartons
- Empty tubes/plumbing pipes/pool noodles
- A large container to collect the water in and reuse
- A fence, trellis or wall to attach the containers to
- A method to attach to the surface, cable ties, drills etc.
There is no set way to create a water wall, the materials and resources you use are completely up to you. You could also ask the children to decorate the containers for a more colourful wall.
- If using pipes and tubes, arrange and attach those to the surface you are working on. You may choose to cut the tubes in half so children can watch the water run down.
- Cut the bottles in half and arrange them so they slightly over lap to avoid spillage
- Place one or more containers (depending on how many end tubes you have) on the floor and fill with water to reuse.
- Provide buckets, watering cans, jugs and whatever transportation containers you can find for your little ones to use.
Here are a few examples of water walls:
We would love to see your creations, please feel to email us at marketing@hadlandcaregroup.co.uk for a chance for your creation to feature in the next Tops Magazine!
