Fascination of Water: Nature-Based Inquiries for Children

We all need time to play in puddles. It is a true delight to be on a walk and discover a puddle and explore how deep and wide it is, as well as how big a splash it makes. Puddles are one of the most wonderful play materials that nature can provide. It is wonderful to see children meet a puddle for the first time and observe it with such awe and wonder. The question for us as practitioners and educators is: how do we use something as simple as a puddle to develop complex learning? This series of curriculum and nature-based planning journals are designed to provide both a curriculum framework and pages to complete that allow room for the development of child-led inquiries. Understanding the learning when we are outside can be a challenge. This series of books provides the support you need to create high quality programs that all of your team can engage with. Ideas stem from case studies and give planning from two angles. The first is as a context for child-led learning, such as the exploration of puddles. The second is planning lessons about academic subjects to ensure breadth and balance in your program. The Fascination Series is a way of starting to reveal the opportunities for children to learn with nature, not about it, by not just sitting in it, but by connecting to it. They will take messages from it and start to ponder their significance in terms of the larger issues that face us in modern society, such as sustainability. Enjoy the stories of how children have explored puddles gathered through Claire's world renowned Floorbook® documentation and start to see the huge amount of learning that takes place in the process of learning with nature.