The value of water play helps tamariki to:
- develop hand-eye coordination
- learn to lift, pour and control water
- understand measuring, estimating and volume
- understand heavy/light, float/sink, full/ empty and shallow/deep
- learn to concentrate and solve problems
- learn to share and cooperate with others.
Playing with water supports learning across all strands of Te Whäriki. In particular, it supports the Exploration strand, where tamariki gain confidence in and control of their bodies, and where they learn strategies for active exploration, thinking and reasoning (Te Whariki, 2017).
