It's the simple things...

Being around keiki all the time makes me realize that it really is the simple things that matter most. A hug, a smile, our family and friends. Today during outdoor play I brought out new spray bottles. I found them in the "travel" section at Walmart where you can purchase all the travel sized amenities. I knew the kids would enjoy play with it, but I never realized that they would be amused and entertained with the spray bottles for as long as they were. 

Most times, I just leave activities around and wait until the keiki discover it on their own. This provides children with the opportunity to explore on their own terms and often engages the other children, supporting the idea of keiki learning from their peers. 


Here, two keiki have discovered the spray bottles. They spend some time looking at it and then both decided to pick it up. One keiki just holds on to it and the other starts squeezing the trigger. After observing the water come out, the keiki in the distance is motivated to try the same thing.


After a few tries, she successfully squeezes the spray bottle hard enough and she gets some distance! Both keiki are amused by this and it turns into a game of who can spray the water the farthest.

After enjoying this game, the bottles needed to be refilled. As I put water into it, one of the keiki said, "I want the yellow bottle, yellow water." This gave me an idea! I wondered, "what would happen if I added food coloring? How would the keiki react to this change?" Eager to see, I added food coloring...

It was obvious (well to me anyway) that there was something different about the bottle or the "stuff" in it. And the keiki seemed to notice too. So they took the spray bottles and began spraying. There was a faint distinction (they were spraying it onto concrete, so they couldn't really see the color). Wanting them to experience the full effect, I walked over to our fence (which is white) and said, "I wonder what would happen if we spray the white fence?!?" haha, that always works because the keiki ran with their little feet to the fence! 

They had different expressions about the color on the fence. It included a "Wow!", "Eww, Yuck!", and a "Oooh, Blue!!". (Can you guess what your keiki said? LOL) 

Anyway, they were thrilled with this activity. After transforming my white fence with the blue water, they all took turns washing it off with the water hose :)