Joe, a child care provider, wants the five-year-olds in the child care facility to learn the concepts of sink and float. At the water table area, Joe sets out the following materials: pine cones, pieces of bark, rocks, cork, screws, large metal washers, two plastic containers filled with water, bottle caps, large Styrofoam pieces, and yarn.
Linda, Tammi, Gurtek, and Tia, four children in the facility, come to the water table together. Joe gives each child two items. One at a time, an item is placed in the water. Joe tells the children that if the object stays on the surface of the water, the object floats. If the object goes to the bottom of the table, the object sinks. Each object is removed before the next object is placed in the water.
On a warm summer afternoon, Tobi, the child care provider, takes the following items outside for a group of toddlers to play with: large buckets of lukewarm, soapy water; sponges and cloths of various colours, shapes, and sizes; towels; two scrubbing brushes; and large paintbrushes.
Tobi puts the objects in a shady spot near a wooden fence and the sidewalk. He places some plastic riding toys and the rocking boat nearby. As the toddlers play with the materials of their choice from what is available, Tobi encourages each of the toddlers. For example, he says, “I wonder what would happen if you tried to blow those bubbles, Camille?” and “You have worked hard, Braden. The rocking horse is so clean now.”
Yi Li makes two different batches of play-dough. The red play-dough is soft and pliable; it moulds easily. The white play-dough is coarser and contains dried coffee grounds to give it a different texture and smell.
Yi Li wants the children (three- and four-year-olds) to use the play-dough to make mice. She gives each child a small piece of red play-dough and shows each child how to roll it into a ball. She demonstrates how to add two little pieces of white play-dough to the top of the ball to represent ears, and three dots to the front for eyes and a nose. A piece of play-dough is rolled into a thin strip and is attached to the bottom. This is the tail. As the children create mice, Yi Li places each mouse on the shelf so that it can dry and harden.