WHAT DO WE DO WITH THIS?

I set up this 'open-ended' activity with a variety of utensils and spheres of different weights, hardness and density.  Essentially it is an activity that promotes the development of eye-hand coordination skills but also offers avenues for imaginative play.

I was instantly reminded of how much direction and instruction young children are often given when faced with a new experience.  Hayley walked up to the table, looked at it with a puzzled expression, then said, "What do we do with this?"  I responded to her question by saying, "I'm not sure, I wonder what we could do!"  Hayley shrugged her shoulders and walked away.

So I was left wondering whether the table simply didn't hold enough interest for her to spark a need to investigate further, or whether she felt that she needed to be 'instructed' on it's use and had maybe lost her sense of wonder and desire to explore the possibilites of something new.  I certainly hope that it is not the later!

Noa developed skills in using the tongs as she collect  a variety of different sized pom-poms to make a bowl of different flavoured scoops of ice-cream.

Max used the tongs and an ice tray to collect and store the smaller sized pom-poms.

Oliver R and Oliver W worked together as a team. 

Sharing a jar and a bowl they transfered items back and forth between the two vessels using a variety of utensils.  Each sphere was transfered between the boys via utensils before reaching the jar or bowl.

Here you can see their precision team-work in action!

And below, Sara-Bella prepares a meal.

So, there are plenty of options for play with a little bit of imagination and a sense of inquiry!