Pumice Pumice Pumice!

One of our wonderful Kaiako went on a trip to Bowentown, where she discovered huge piles of pumice, small sticks and huge logs on the beach. Straight away she knew that our tamariki would be curious about this volcanic rock, so gathered some to explore back at the centre.

After a nourishing morning tea, our little ones were all fuelled and ready to go, intrigued to see what was in the bag. As the pumice was pulled out of the bag, they spent time looking at it and feeling it to get a better understanding of this new rock formation in front of them.

Together they discussed pumice - a rock made from water and gases from a volcanic eruption which becomes frothy. When it cools and hardens, we are left with the pumice rocks we see in front of us. Our little ones love making volcanoes in the sandpit, so this really caught their attention.

Because children love sticks and digging, they were each given a piece of pumice and one of the sticks that were collected. They began poking the piece of pumice, focused on getting their stick into the pumice and twisting it around to make holes. This required concentration and focus & our little ones were excited when they were able to make a hole right through their piece of pumice, exploring the physical characteristic of this volcanic rock through the process.

Opportunity like these give our tamariki the opportunity to learn more about the natural world around them and have a hands-on experience that challenges their physical and coordination skills. Not only were our little ones involved in the process, but they were delighted in their drilling discovery of this new material.