Outdoor Play

At Kirkgate Childcare we’re not afraid of the rain!! This week we weren’t going to let a little thing like rain – rain, rain and more rain – stop us from getting outside to play.

When the heavens open up, so does another world of outdoor play possibilities for exploring, experimenting, imagining and creating.

Things smell, feel, sound and look different in the rain.  Wet sand feels and act differently to dry sand.  Soil becomes oozy mud.  Surfaces are slippery and squelchy which opens up a teachable moment about learning to risk assess and keep ourselves safe on slippery surfaces, Puddles appear. Different creatures make an appearance…. so many learning opportunities would be missed if children were kept inside

The children became very resourceful creating their own puddle using a plastic sheet and filling it using a bucket when they noticed the rain rather than making puddles it was trickling away down the slope in our outdoor area! They had endless fun jumping in the puddle they created and then decided to experiment by jumping from heights to see who was able to make the biggest splash.

The children also noticed the sound the rain made on the plastic sheet and some of our stainless steel resources which turned onto another teachable moment and a song about the pitter patter of raindrops.

The next day painting at the table turned into painting in puddles, using powder paint….. who wouldn’t want to play in these amazingly colourful puddles.

At Kirkgate Childcare we recognise the importance of outdoor play whatever the weather and when we say we offer free flow we mean free flow come rain or shine a member of staff is outside with a smile to explore the changing environment with the children.