Creating a concrete volcano

The children at my centre have been showing an interest in volcanoes lately, so we decided to make a volcano with the children. Rather than making the usual sand volcano, we chose to have a go at making concrete as a new material to build with. This involves using sand, flour and water and mixing it together until it forms a sticky, dough-like substance. The children helped to measure out the ingredients and mix them together to see what it would create. Through technology, they were able to practice skills that they use in all areas of their day such as waiting, turn taking and sharing (Gonzalez-Mena, 2008). We then poured the cement onto some cardboard and the children helped us to shape it into a volcano. This activity was production and process technology because it allowed the children to see how we can turn raw materials such as flour, sand and water, into a product similar to concrete. According to Smorti (1999) technology is "...a creative and purposeful activity aimed at meeting needs and opportunities through the development of products, systems or environments" (p. 5). The children's needs were met because they were able to develop a product that helped them to extend on their developing interest.
A few days later our concrete had not set because there was too much water in it. We let the children play with it once more and then it had to be disposed of. Although the outcome of the activity did not turn out as we had planned, it was great that the children were still able to go through the process of creating something new. I think it was good for the children to see that sometimes things do not work out as we expect, because this is a part of life that children will experience quite often. Te Whāriki states under goal one of the exploration strand that "Children develop the knowledge that trying things out, exploration, and curiosity are important and valued ways of learning" (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 84). Even though things do not work out sometimes, it is still okay to try and explore. This is a message that I think children can benefit from in all areas of life and technology. It was especially good for the children to see that adults can make mistakes too and that we are still learning with them. It also presented a great opportunity to try the concrete making again to see if we can get it right next time. Although this activity was facilitated, it was something we did based on the interests of the children, so it is the sort of things that would happen quite often and spontaneously. I think that the children learnt a lot from this area of technology and it was something that they thoroughly enjoyed because sensory play is a favourite with most of our children. There was very little adult interference or intervention, so the children were able to explore to the full extent of their abilities, which I think helped them to have more appreciation for this production and process technology.