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Splish splash

Pre-schoolers puddle jump ... indoors

Malcolm Gorrill
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Mar 02/01) - One by one, kids put on their boots and jumped into a puddle.

They stamped their feet, laughing as they sent water flying and as "rain" came down on their heads.

But there was something unusual about this particular scene. It was inside.

Last Friday, kids at Inuvik Preschool played in a puddle placed conveniently in a small plastic pool. The "rain" was provided by teaching assistant Shannon Ploughman, who sprayed water on the tots.

The event came at the end of an entire week of activities designed to teach the kids about water. Patti Male, teacher in charge, said whales were a popular topic, especially the largest of them all, the blue whale.

A piece of baleen was brought in for the kids to examine.

"We showed them how the toothless whales eat," Male said, explaining that the kids were shown how baleen works.

"We had a dish pan and we put pepper in it and gave them a comb," Male said. "They had to pick out the pepper with their hand. They couldn't pick up that much, but if they used the comb, they got lots. That's how the whale uses its baleen."

The children learned about oceans and ponds, and the different characteristics and animal life of both. Male explained that ponds are more shallow and light reaches to the bottom, but in some parts of the ocean sunlight doesn't extend to the bottom.

The kids also made some animals.

"The kids took their under the sea pictures. They cut the animals out and pasted them and coloured them. Then we talked about the different animals that live under the ocean," Male said. "They had lots of fun playing in the water with the different animals."

The children finished off their water fun by eating ocean blue Jello.

Later this month the children at Inuvik Preschool will do activities relating to space and the solar system.