The Marvellous Water Wheel
At Tintern we are lucky to have such a beautiful and large learning space and we continuously appreciate the natural wonders in our environment.
One very special and well used component of our playground is the water wheel feature. This is stationed very close to the sandpit and allows the children access to water for their play. The water wheel allows the children to participate in an experience where they practise and learn a range of skills. Covering topics around weight, volume, speed, and engineering alongside aiding in fine and gross motor skills.
There are a lot of different ways that children can use the water wheel, allowing them to investigate and explore movement, trial and error, experiment with the flow of the water and the spinning of the wheel. It is a great way to learn and discover cause and effect. It takes dedication and several pumps to bring the water up from the ground. One of the many wonders is around the fascination of movement. They marvel as the water comes out of the pump, how it spins the wheel, how they could stop the water in the dam and then have it cascade down the ramps.
There is also a lot of co-operation and co-operative play that happens at the water wheel. Helping each other fill their buckets and taking turns to pump the water are lovely ways to explore working together for a common goal.
The water wheel is a fantastic asset to our program. We look forward to supporting and extending the children’s skills, knowledge and learning in this area.
Kristin De Vos | Director of ELC
