In this room, the three- and four-year-old children spend the morning in interest centres. All of the centres are open for the children to use. One of the centres is the water table.
Kees, the child care provider, puts a variety of materials in the water table to promote a certain concept, but he does not give the children specific directions about what to do. The children enjoy “make-believe” activities in the centre, such as “cooking” with water toys. The children do the following activities:
When Kees joins the children, he observes their play and involves himself in the cooking process, becoming one of the participants in play. He encourages the children’s creativity through open-ended questions and positive comments about their use of the play materials. He joins in the final celebration of pretending to eat the masterpieces, including the chocolate cake.