I just want to respond to a phrase I heard mentioned that really caused me to ponder....it was said out of jest in regards to the water table...the poster casually said, "this could keep children entertained for hours...."
That casual reference to what we offer to children really caused me to stop and think ---is it about entertaining or about scaffolding their thinking?
Is it about knowing about water movement or is there something far deeper--big ideas or theories that we are wanting the children to work though or to have the children to begin to formulate?
If I were to ask what is the learning in this space--I would bet I would hear--it is about sensory, movement, motor skills, etc.--all of these are surface level thinking--if these (along with a few others I'm sure I can about guess) are our objectives we are selling children short and indeed what happens at the water table will merely be entertaining....and our documentation of what we share with families will reflect a weak image of the child and the thinking that happens in this space.
I urge us to rethink--which Reggio inspired work often asks us to do.
Much like children's work in the block area--there is a balance or tension which causes children to stay working with blocks and other materials--the tension is between function and design. When you observe children's work in blocks they go between the function of the structure and the design or aesthetics of the structure. When children work at this level they are slipping in and out of meta-cognition about their work.
If we begin with just that small knowledge of children's thinking--it will push us in providing richer "encounters" in the "water lab" and what we offer. If we think around these questions: What materials support function (movement, transformation, flow as a few thoughts)? What materials could we offer that support children's thinking in regards to design (i.e. tubes--flexible and fixed, connectors etc.)? What materials could we add that would cause provocations in their work?
From that we then begin to look at--Motion--what could we provide that stops and starts the water motion, what materials utilizes motion? What materials help the children discover and form theories around distance, force, speed, changing direction? The list can go on....
Like other mediums what is the "language of water"? How can we shift from entertainment or an activity to thinking smart and thinking about the medium of water as a language?
IF we begin with just this shift in mindset we now shift to a stronger image of the child who uses these materials to expand upon their 100 of languages....
