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Playing in the Gutters

March 17, 2010 by notjustcute Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience, Music and Movement 22 Comments

 Anyone who knows me well, knows I am no stranger to Home Depot.  Having married a man with a penchant for home remodeling, I have learned to navigate the aisles well, in search of the right size of screws, the critically needed electrical wire, or the aesthetically pleasing cabinet pull.  Almost without fail, I see something at “the Depot” that appeals to the preschool teacher in me (or maybe it’s the preschooler in me). 

Well, here’s one hardware store find, I think is a blast to use with kids.  These are vinyl gutters.  I can’t recall the price, but I know it was just a few dollars.  They’re the same kind used to run along the edge of your roof.  I had them cut on site at a variety of lengths- 1, 2, 3, and 4 feet.  (I don’t know if there is typically a charge to cut it, I just asked and mentioned it was for preschool.  It’s amazing what people will do for those little ones!)

Once they’re cut, children can use their own imaginations along with constructive and spatial skills to build ramps – or a series of ramps- for cars or balls right in your living room or block area.  Couches, chairs, blocks, stairs, hands, almost anything can be used to prop them up into an inclined plane!

You can set them up with cups, bins, or buckets to catch balls, marbles, or even water, as it runs along the track!  Let the children be involved in creating the track and setting out the targets.  Their gears will be turning as they hypothesize and experiment with their new ideas.

Use them in a large water table, or outside with a small pool.  Add some toy spiders and sing The Itsy Bitsy Spider, acting it out as you go!  Set them out in your sandbox for a sand slide or cement chute.  Place them in your playground and see what else the children use them for!

You could even use the gutters on a warm summer play day and have a water race!  Have a group figure out how to work together with their pieces of the gutter to get the water from point A to point B.  They can hold them at different heights as the water runs from one person’s section to another’s!  They quickly learn what a little elevation does for a ramp!  It’s a great mix of science and social skills in one as they work together toward the goal.  (You could play essentially the same game using a ball instead.)

These gutters could be used in so many ways!  Your children will likely show you some new ideas as you let them explore with them!  They really lend themselves to exploration with physics concepts like velocity, inertia, motion, acceleration, gravity….you get the idea.  As an added bonus, they store rather nicely as they stack one inside the other.  So go on.  Play in the gutters!  Tell your mom I said you could.

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Comments

  1. 1

    Colleen Bowers says

    March 18, 2010 at 3:36 am

    Great idea!
    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  2. 2

    amber fischer says

    March 18, 2010 at 6:24 am

    How clever!! (And how fun!)

    I’ve also seen teachers install rain gutters along the bottom of the wall (under the bulletin board) to hold picture books.

    Reply
    • 3

      notjustcute says

      March 19, 2010 at 9:34 am

      Now that you mention it, I’ve seen that too! A great use! By the way, thanks for posting those pictures of that beautiful baby!

      Reply
  3. 4

    Scott says

    March 18, 2010 at 7:18 am

    Fun, fun, fun! I know some boys and girls that would love this. Thanks for sharing the idea.

    Reply
    • 5

      jenny says

      March 18, 2010 at 2:55 pm

      Oh, I’ve got to get me some of those! I’ve never heard of vinyl ones before.

      Reply
      • 6

        Deborah says

        March 18, 2010 at 5:25 pm

        Cool idea!

        Reply
      • 7

        notjustcute says

        March 19, 2010 at 9:33 am

        Vinyl is great! No sharp edges! They may be rough after cutting, but you can smooth them with sandpaper!

        Reply
    • 8

      notjustcute says

      March 19, 2010 at 9:33 am

      I’d love to hear what new ideas they come up with while using them!

      Reply
  4. 9

    Kimberly says

    March 19, 2010 at 10:55 am

    Genius! I’m sure they work much better than the crappy and expensive racetracks we have. My boys would love this~

    Reply
  5. 10

    Ayn Colsh says

    March 19, 2010 at 5:03 pm

    I am definitely going to Home Depot this weekend! I have needed some fresh “real and found” materials to add to my block center and this is perfect! Thanks!

    Reply
    • 11

      Ayn Colsh says

      March 20, 2010 at 2:12 pm

      I just got back from Home Depot. I got the rain gutters and had them cut. The guy wasn’t too friendly~~~maybe he just thought I was crazy! Can’t wait to try them Monday!
      Thanks again!

      Reply
      • 12

        notjustcute says

        March 20, 2010 at 6:35 pm

        I’d love to hear how it goes for you on Monday!

        Reply
  6. 13

    Marla McLean, Atelierista says

    March 21, 2010 at 7:23 pm

    Wonderful!
    I have been developing ideas for an outdoor play area in our school playground, and these will be a great addition!

    Reply
  7. 14

    A Magical Childhood says

    March 21, 2010 at 11:42 pm

    I love this! I shared the link on my web site for one of 10 ways to make today magical. 🙂 Thanks for the wonderful idea!

    Reply
    • 15

      notjustcute says

      March 22, 2010 at 7:18 am

      Thanks for your link!

      Reply
  8. 16

    Our School Time Adventures says

    April 12, 2010 at 12:24 am

    I just saw this post by Ayn and I thought I should say, “Really, really, great creative idea!”

    I will definitely be doing this with River!

    -Vanessa

    Reply
    • 17

      notjustcute says

      April 12, 2010 at 8:11 pm

      Thanks so much!

      Reply
  9. 18

    Terri says

    August 1, 2012 at 8:39 am

    Great article! Love your ideas!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 10 Ways to Make Today Magical « A Magical Childhood says:
    March 21, 2010 at 11:27 pm

    […] Make some rain gutter ball mazes, or better yet set up a water system with these in the back […]

    Reply
  2. Thematic Unit: On the Move with Transportation « Not Just Cute says:
    November 10, 2010 at 2:54 am

    […] Marble Tracks or Gutter Play […]

    Reply
  3. Let’s Build! Activities for a Preschool Tools and Construction Theme | Not Just Cute says:
    March 11, 2011 at 1:22 am

    […] building materials in addition to your standard unit blocks.  Kids love using pipes like these, or gutters like […]

    Reply
  4. 10 Activities To Do At Home With The Kids | Planning With Kids says:
    December 22, 2013 at 3:33 am

    […] planks to drive cars up and down on. I think he will love this idea of using gutters posted by Not Just Cute. I also think my older boys will be able to set up some elaborate experiments with balls to journey […]

    Reply

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I’m Amanda Morgan. Here’s what I’m about…

In early education, there is too much distance between what we know and what we do. I bridge the gaps that exist between academia, decision-makers, educators, and parents so that together, we can improve the quality of early education while also respecting and protecting the childhood experience.

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