Rice, in various forms and in various ways, was explored and experimented with by the tamariki today. The rice was shovelled along by toy diggers, sprinkled from up high to resemble snowfall and had water added to it in the shallow trough, to make a rice bath!
Puzzles/panga were a good settling activity this morning. It helped our tamariki to feel calm and safe before moving on, into the busy environment. The tamariki were taking time to look at the shape of each puzzle/panga piece before placing it in the correct position.
Recognise
Doing panga is great for fine motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination. Manipulating each piece to ensure it fits in the designated area, requires problem solving skills and critical thinking. Panga also encourages tamariki to develop patience and perseverance skills as they work towards completing it. We had a discussion about the alphabet panga and thought about which letters are at the beginning of our names. We certainly have some very knowledgeable tamariki. Te Whariki, mentions that tamariki become increasingly capable of recognising mathematical symbols and concepts and using them with enjoyment, meaning and purpose.
As the tamariki explored, experimented and created with the rice in all its forms, they were able to further develop and refine their existing working theories with regard to the properties of the sensory material, rice. Exploration/Mana Aoturoa- Children develop the confidence to choose and experiment with materials, to play around with ideas, and to explore actively with all the senses.
Respond
Who would have thought a watery rice bath would be so appealing!
Maybe we could turn our artwork into a panga/puzzle next time.
