A garden hose, whether attached to a water source or not, is a wonderful environmental variable. Hoses burst with possibility when water drips, sprays, sprinkles, and gurgles from them, but water less hoses hold play possibilities too. Kids will look through them, talk and blow into them, and hold them up to their ear and listen, for example. They’ll also use them as pet snakes or attacking space alien tentacles.

Of course, all this activity is potentially rich in learning. Social skills, language skills, physical skills, a deeper appreciation for cause and effect relationships, a growing understanding of gravity and fluid dynamics, and more.

With a utility knife or a pair of garden sheers, you can slice an old garden hose into tiny, inch-long sections for use as beads, or manipulatives, bits to add to the process art center. Or you can slice foot-long sections kids will use to blow bubbles in the water table or as giant green beans in dramatic play. Or you can cut random longer lengths that they’ll swing around, toss, and haul about. And they will, of course, figure out all kind of other things to do with all those sections because loose parts spark creativity and inventiveness.

Garden Hose At Play

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