Picture a rainy, dull, late afternoon, a garden full of muddy puddles and a group of very excited children! The perfect concoction for fun in the Den!
It was nearing 4 o'clock, the children were becoming a little tired after a long day of playing, and the sky was getting darker, however, this didn't stop us getting outside for the last 30 minutes to explore the huge puddle the rain had left behind. We all got into our wet weather gear, popped our wellies on, and headed outside to find the puddle. The children loved jumping in and out of it, holding hands, counting "1,2,3 jump!" but the novelty soon wore off, with many wanting to head back in and get ready for home time. I used this time to think about how I could make the garden more inviting, which is when I thought back to last week. Bubbles had been a big hit recently, with almost every child insisting they blew the bubbles and chased them in all directions around the garden.
So I filled a bowl with warm soapy water and poured it into the puddle. "Wow!" someone said, and instantly all of the children who had previously gone to get changed came charging back out to explore the new puddle we had created. The more the children jumped, the more bubbles were created. They soon realised this, and used this to their advantage, with one little boy saying "keep jumping, look at the bubbles, it looks like snow, make more".
The bottles and jugs we had been using in the water tray this week were then transported to the huge puddle, the children enjoyed pouring the water over their wellies, washing the bubbles away to reveal their feet underneath.
When 4.30pm came, it was time to head back inside. I told the children we needed to somehow get the water out of the puddle so it didn't clog up the grass, the children looked puzzled, with one little boy spotting a broom: "we could brush it out" he said. Off he went, brushing the water into the sandpit, taking it in turns with his friends, until finally all of the water had been swept away, and we could head back inside to warm up. Although the cold wet weather didn't seem to phase the children, they were having far too much fun!
Today was a completely different story. The ground is dry, the sun is beaming into the garden, and the puddle is gone. It's almost like it never happened.. but we know different!
Thanks for reading;
Soph