Puddle Jumpers – Narration by Tia
On a wet and cloudy day at carrot seed preschool, the children were very excited to get outside to play in the puddles. There is one puddle, in the middle of the play yard, that the children love to put their hands in and scoop the water into bowls, buckets, or whatever they can find. O was jumping up and down in the middle of the puddle laughing and smiling. He looked to the small picnic table beside the puddle and seemed to have an inspiring idea. He climbed on top of the table, looked at me to be sure he was allowed to do it, then jumped. He made such a big splash his face and head got all wet and muddy. He looked to me again and burst out laughing.
Other children noticed what O was doing. They watched for a moment, and then decided it looked like a lot of fun. A few children ran up to a teacher to get their clothes adjusted so they did not get too wet under their rain suits.
I believe this activity really shows how movement is encouraged and loved at carrot seed preschool. In order for the children to do this activity, they must use their whole bodies. First, they climb up onto the picnic table, which requires them to use their arms, hands, feet, and legs.
While jumping, the children bend their legs and fling their whole bodies forward. When they land, they use their hands to stabilize themselves.
At first, I was a little nervous watching this activity. I was nervous the children might slip as theywere about to jump or after they landed. Sometimes the children looked a little nervous as well. I quickly discovered that they were extremely capable of an activity like this because they believed they were.