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A river is a flowing, moving stream of water. It usually feeds water into an ocean, lake, pond, or even another river.

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-Rivers are our main source of clean drinking water

-The longest river in the world is the Nile River, it reaches around 6650 kilometers in length

-Rivers have many uses which include fishing, bathing, transport, rafting and swimming among others.

-There are 76 rivers in the world that are over 1,600km long.

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Cattail

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Turtles, ducks, otters, catfish, dragonfly, crabs, and even crocodiles can be found in rivers all around the world.

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Read a book about rivers and then try to create your own scavenger hunt list. Go to the nearest river and try to find some of the things on your list!

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Algae

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Tinfoil River

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This week we've been spending a lot of time in the garden...making the most of having an actual summer for once! As much as I'm loving the heatwave, it can be a bit much for little ones. This Tin Foil River is a great outdoor play activity that gives them chance to cool off!

It was really easy to do, totally thrifty and lots of fun. It's a great sensory activity, as well as encouraging imaginative play.

This idea came from a picture I saw on Play Hooray's Instagram last week. It's a great account full of ideas and inspiration for new activities. They also have a website full of ideas!

It only took me a few minutes to set the foil river up, although it did take a few trial runs to get the right shape and size. The first one I tried was too long and just didnt keep the shape of the sides once the water was in.

So I made it shorter and used a few layers of foil to make it more sturdy. Just lay the foil out flat, then start bending up the sides and scrunching them to form a raised edge. Add more layers of foil underneath and do the same again until it feels strong enough to hold water.

I made the river during Ollie's nap because I knew it would be hard work with him around! I filled it with water and put his plastic boats in and left it for him to find.

He was really excited and couldn't wait to start playing. Ollie decided to get in the river and have a little paddle. Unfortunately he stood on the sides, flattening them and letting all the water out! The great thing with using foil though, is that you can just reshape it! So I fixed the walls back up, put some more water in and we carried on playing.

It was actually a good opportunity to teach Ollie more about being careful and gentle. He's like a bull in a China shop most of the time so any chance to teach him why he needs to chill out a bit is always useful!

Once he'd had a few walks up and down the river, he decided to crouch down and sail the boats up and down it. This was a good time to practice the colours he's been learning lately.

He liked splashing in the water with his hands and pushing the boats to make them move along the river. He also liked the noise the foil made when he stood on it.

It was a really hot day so playing in the water was a great way to cool off without having the full paddling pool out. It's also really easy to tidy away afterwards.

Ollie really enjoyed this activity and we'll definitely be doing it again! In future I might try colouring the water to make it look a bit more interesting. You could easily adapt this for older children and make it into more of a challenging activity. You could set your own fishing game up or get them to help make the foil river themselves!

For more outdoor play activities check out Fun with Food.

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Tin Foil River - Outdoor Play Activity - Tightwad Mama

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This week we've been spending a lot of time in the garden...making the most of having an actual summer for once! As much as I'm loving the heatwave, it can be a bit much for little ones. This Tin Foil River is a great outdoor play activity that gives them chance to cool off!

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The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack

Ping was an adventurous duck who lived on a beautiful wise-eyed boat on the Yangtze River. He liked his life on the riverboat just and liked his large family and his kind master. He didn't like to be the last in line to board the boat at night, for that unlucky duck got a loud spank. So what did Ping do when it seemed that he would be the last on line? What else but set out on his own to explore the fascinating world of life on the Yangtze River. (www.goodreads.com)

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Rivers and their tributaries are the veins of the planet, pumping freshwater to wetlands and lakes and out to sea. They flush nutrients through aquatic ecosystems, keeping thousands of species alive, and help sustain fisheries worth billions of dollars.

Rivers are also the lifeblood of human civilizations. They supply water to cities, farms, and factories. Rivers carve shipping routes around the globe, and provide us with food, recreation, and energy.

Hydroelectric plants built from bank to bank harness the power of water and convert it to electricity.

But rivers are also often the endpoint for much of our industrial and urban pollution and runoff. When it rains, chemical fertilizer and animal waste peppering residential areas and agricultural lands is swept into local streams, rivers, and other bodies of water.

The result: polluted drinking water sources and the decline of aquatic species, in addition to coastal dead zones caused by fertilizer and sewage overload.

Over the course of human history, waterways have been manipulated for irrigation, urban development, navigation, and energy. Dams and levees now alter their flow, interrupting natural fluctuations and the breeding and feeding patterns of fish and other river creatures.

Technology and engineering have changed the course of nature, and now we are looking for ways to restore flow and function to the planet's circulatory system.

The Colorado River provides an excellent example of what happens when demand for river water-for cities, industry, energy production, and agriculture-threatens to outpace supply.

An unsettling number of large rivers-including the Colorado, Rio Grande, Yellow, Indus, Ganges, Amu Darya, Murray, and Nile-are now so overtapped that they discharge little or no water to the sea for months at a time.

The world's biggest dam, the The Three Gorges dam on China's Yangtze River, is one of the largest power generators in the world, and holds almost 32 million acre-feet (39.3 cubic kilometers) of water. The hydropower-generating dam does have its drawbacks, though: It displaced an estimated 1.3 million people and flooded thousands of villages.

After enduring 19 flood episodes between 1961 and 1997, Napa, California, opted to restore the Napa River floodplain for $366 million, instead of the more conventional flood-control strategy of channelizing and building levees. (See the nearby Oroville Dam's slipway bursting at the seams.)

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Rivers and their tributaries are the veins of the planet, pumping freshwater to wetlands and lakes and out to sea. They flush nutrients through aquatic ecosystems, keeping thousands of species alive, and help sustain fisheries worth billions of dollars. Rivers are also the lifeblood of human civilizations.

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-Insects

-Amphibians

-Reptiles

-Fish

-Birds

-Mammals

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Reed

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Magnetic Fishing Activity

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Get ready for the summer with this fun indoor fishing game. Perfect for a rainy day, letter f alphabet activity or working on hand-eye coordination. This DIY Magnetic Fish Game is fun and fabulous for kids to play.

It also fits in perfect with an Ocean Unit Study 🙂

For The Best Kids Activities

Felt DIY Magnetic Fish Game for Kids

If you are looking for a rainy day activity? This one is perfect. It's an easy DIY Magnetic fishing game for kids. You've probably seen the cool magnet puzzles; now you can make your own.
What you will need to make your Fun Magnetic Fish Game is in this picture below. However, I have it displayed in list form towards the bottom of the page.
Cut little fish shapes with different colors out of the felt. Make these big enough so you can fit a washer inside.

Lay a washer on one of the fish and hot glue another fish it so the washer is enclosed.

Glue a googly eye on each of the fish.

Tie a string (8-12 in.) onto the dowel rod and glue the end of the string between 2 magnets.

Great DIY Fishing Game for Kids
Fish just for fun or turn it into a learning game by having little kids catch certain colors or sizes. What's Needed Directions
Felt Fishing Game

1. Cut little fish shapes out of the felt. Make these big enough so you can fit a washer inside.

2. Lay a washer on one of the fish and hot glue another fish it so the washer is enclosed.

3. Glue a googly eye on the fish.

4. Tie the string onto the dowel rod and glue the end of the string between 2 magnets.

5. Fish just for fun or turn it into a learning game by having little kids catch certain colors or sizes.

6. Have Fun!

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Studies have shown that if you really like this, you will also love the following articles. I have pulled them together for you right here!

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Fun Felt DIY Magnetic Fish Game for Kids - Natural Beach Living

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Get ready for the summer with this fun indoor fishing game. Perfect for a rainy day, letter f alphabet activity or working on hand-eye coordination. This DIY Magnetic Fish Game is fun and fabulous for kids to play. It also fits in perfect with an Ocean Unit Study 🙂 If you are looking for a rainy day activity?

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Rivers normally begin in mountains or hills.

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Aquatic Trees & Lily Pads

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Watch from 1:33-2:20

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The Water Bodies | The Dr. Binocs Show | Educational Videos For Kids

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Where Does The Water From Rivers Come From?

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Where Does The Water From Rivers Come From?

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River water can come from rain, melting snow, icebergs, lakes, and ponds.

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Saint John River
Location: New Brunswick

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Sensory Table

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I recently came across this article in the American Journal of Play. It is an interview with Italian author and teacher Lella Gandini who is best known in the United States as the leading advocate for the Reggio Emilia approach to early-childhood education.

A very interesting read about Reggio and Gandini's thoughts on implementing Reggio within American schools.

A quick summary from me. This is an activity we do a lot at my current school during meetings. We are asked to read over articles and find a key word, phrase and sentence that stood out for us.

word: " dynamic"

phrase: " The role of the teacher is seen as that of researcher"

sentence: " An essential element for positive learning and teaching in the Reggio Emilia approach is to view children and teachers as endowed with strong potential, ready to enter into relationships, ready to be listened to, and eager to learn.

My quest this year was to create a more organised environment in my classroom. A space that allowed for natural expression through various forms of play as well as a space that was organised and wasn't too expensive. 🙂

My inspiration has come from relieving in many schools within many different classrooms, meeting new creative teachers and sharing their ideas as well as internet browsing and blogging.

I do not claim to be a 'Reggio Teacher' but I love how Reggio Emilia classrooms are designed to be a beautiful third teacher. If the environment is set up right, the children will be more likely to be actively engaged with the materials. Actively engaged children are learning through play. When children are engaged in activities, teachers have more time to positively interact with the children, observe the learning in action, write down language, and take pictures.

Documenting this learning is such an important aspect of the Reggio Emilia approach. Publications I have seen by Reggio Children shows work by children that is beautifully and clearly presented. I understand that by arranging an aesthetic display or presentation of learning with care, we show our respect for the children's work and make strong statements about the children's potential.

Here are some examples of documentation of children's work that I have found to be particularly inspiring and creative. I hope that my own effort to document my children's work is as respectful and creative as these examples!

Kate.

Term 4.

This term I am excited to start exploring buildings, structures and materials with my class. We are hoping to inquire into the properties of materials, the impact of the environment on materials and building materials as part of the PYP IB programme.

I understand that the basis for an authentic and engaging unit of inquiry is to provide real life connections for students as well as have a variety of unique, hands on, open ended activities available for 'free' exploration. Browsing the internet has provided me with many ideas and inspiration to get the children engaged and excited for this topic.

I have always been keen to create a really engaging and interesting artefacts table where books, images, key words, objects, games and examples can be explored and played with by tiny hands in-between lessons, before and after school with families or during the day. I am excited at the possibilities of what this table or area may look like this term!

Below are some visual examples of artefacts tables that have inspired me:

An interesting article that I have found discusses the need and importance for developing creativity within an early years setting. "Observations of children at play clearly reveal that young children are fascinated by the exploration of materials and tools and we know that children learn as much from the 'doing' as from the potential end product."

Read more here - An Approach to Creative Learning in the Early Years

Kate.

Hello. My name is Kate Golding and I am a 2011 graduate teacher from Australia. The opportunity to guide young people through the formative years of their development as both people and students has always attracted me to the profession of teaching. There are few vocations which can claim to impact individuals as profoundly as a classroom teacher which is why I am so passionate about what I do. This is my blog and I hope to share images and articles which have inspired my professional growth as an educator as well images and work I have done in my own classroom. Kate Golding.

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I recently came across this article in the American Journal of Play. It is an interview with Italian author and teacher Lella Gandini who is best known in the United States as the leading advocate for the Reggio Emilia approach to early-childhood education.

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Rain Drop Splash by Alvin Tresselt

"Drip drop splash went the rain all day." The rain formed a puddle. . .and became a pond. . .and spilled over into a lake. . .and grew larger and larger until it joined with a river and travelled out to sea.
With this classic picture book, young readers can follow the course of a heavy rain as it drenches people and animals and changes the landscape below. (www.goodreads.com)

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Rivers can be all different sizes. There is no rule saying how big a flow of water must be going for it to be considered a river.

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A River by Marc Martin

There's a river outside my window. Where will it take me? So begins the imaginary journey of a child inspired by the view outside her bedroom window: a vast river winding through a towering city. A small boat with a single white sail floats down the river and takes her from factories to farmlands, freeways to forests, out to the stormy and teeming depths of the ocean, and finally back to the comforts—and inspirations—of home. (www.barnesandnoble.com)

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The Chute River
Location: Naples