Water guns

I want mine to have ten holes

“I want to go and do water guns again.”

They had been out with them once already, and before the second time an adult asked what kind of water gun they would make if they made their own.

“Mine has a long tank for the water.”

“Not long. Square.”

“I want mine to have ten holes where the water comes out.”

“When I shoot mine only one line comes out, so it takes too long.”

They drew the ones they wanted first.

“I'll make one you wear like a hat.”

Then they built them out of the recycling bin.

“I'll punch holes in a bottle, and when you squeeze it, ten holes means lots of water.”

“I'm going to fold paper.”

“Paper's no good! It gets wet.”

“I'm tying a string to the spray bottle from our room, so I can fill it and shoot at the same time.”

At the park they tried them.

“I'm squeezing my bottle one.”

“Whoa! Ten waters came out!”

“But it isn't strong. It doesn't feel like a water gun.”

“I'll try my ziplock one. I stuck a bottle mouth on the bag, so it only comes out in one line, but I think it'll be strong.”

“Wow, that's so much water!”

“But it leaks out the side, so it runs out fast.”

They traded and shot each other's.

“Look! If you squeeze the bottle with two hands the water really goes!”

They shot at a tree, gave the plants a drink, and drew on the sand.

What if we hit something?

One of them pulled a water gun out of a bag.

“We're doing water guns today!”

An adult asked what there was to play with a water gun.

“What if we hit something?”

They went looking for what could be hit, and someone landed on milk cartons. The cartons came out, and each of them wrote what their own was worth — anything from one to five — and drew around the number.

“When do we go out and do the water guns?”

Everyone filled a gun and carried their own carton out. A table went up to stand them on, and a tub to refill from.

“That's the thing you hit with the water gun!”

“I'm starting with the five.”

Then one of them couldn't hit anything, and the tears came.

“Why won't mine hit it?”

“What matters is the two of you clearing all of them together. It only works if everyone on the team does well.”

The child said okay and went back to it.

Some of the guns turned out to be hard to aim with, so they used each other's.

Can we draw with something that isn't water?

They had done water guns the day before, so they knew to bring their own out. Some had the kind you strap on like a backpack, and those were heavy.

“I don't want to use mine today.”

There were spare ones from the room, so those came out too.

“What water gun thing are we doing today?”

“The sun is strong today, so we're drawing on the ground with water.”

“Yes!”

“But can we draw with something that isn't water too?”

So chalk came out as well, and they drew in chalk and then erased it with the water guns.

They drew with water too. The outline of a shape first, then filling it in.

Why is it more slippery today?

Nearly every family had sent a water gun in. They started with their own, then passed them around.

Filling them, they found out that some have to be laid flat before the water will go in, and others have to be pulled open from the top.

An adult pointed out things to aim at.

“Try up there.”

“Try as far as that tree.”

They shot at the tree, then at each other's belly buttons. Even the one who hates getting wet stayed in it.

By the time everyone was soaked through, an adult asked if they wanted the playground.

They put the guns down and lined up.

“What fun thing do you think happens if you go to the playground soaking wet?”

“A water slide?”

“Let's go and actually ride it!”

Coming down the curve of the slide, they noticed something.

“Why is it more slippery?”

“Why would it be more slippery than yesterday? What's different from yesterday?”

“Oh, I know! It's because our clothes are wet.”

That's the hardest one

They had been kicking a ball into a goal the week before, and someone brought that up again.

“What if this time we hit things with the water guns, like scoring a goal?”

An adult showed them that magnetic tiles stick to a clothes drying rack. Triangles, squares, pentagons went up, and the rack went out to the yard.

One of them stuck a tile high up.

“That's the hardest one.”

Another built out sideways from a friend's tiles until the target was bigger, and then chose which part to aim at.

One held the gun in both hands and aimed a long time.

“Got it!”

Someone else took the near ones in order, following where the water landed. Another watched the others first, then moved back a little and tried again, and again.

“Hit this one.”

“Now the one up top!”

They started close, and kept stepping backwards.

I'll give it water gently

Rain jackets on, and one thing settled before they went out: not at anyone's face, not at anyone's body, and no swinging them around.

Outside they went looking for what needed water.

The ground had dried out in the sun, so they sprayed it.

“The ground got cool.”

Then they found an earthworm drying out in the sunlight.

“Don't be hurt.”

“I'll give it water gently.”

They carried on to the vegetable patch and watered the tomatoes and the peppers.

“This one got so big.”

“There are flowers too.”

Mine is a grape one

The guns came in purple, yellow and pink, and the colors turned into summer fruit.

“Mine is a grape one.”

“That's mango juice color.”

“That one looks like a peach.”

They filled them and watched the water climb inside, then pressed the handle to find out where it came out.

The first shots landed near their own feet. So they tilted the guns and changed how hard they pressed.

“If you press hard it goes far.”

“If you press a little it lands near you.”

Then they sprayed all at once.

“It's like rain.”

“A rainbow might come out.”

“Summer is good because it's cool.”

After that the water went down onto the ground as shapes, and then at whatever was worth hitting.

Feet first, or it startles you

An inflatable pool and a slide had gone up out front. They watched it through the window on the way in.

An adult asked what the rules should be for playing in it safely.

“You go up the slide from the going-up side.”

“You don't spray water in your friend's face.”

Walking out, the rules kept coming, and this time they were their own.

“If you get water on someone's head all at once it startles them, so you have to do feet first!”

“Don't shoot my face.”

The pools were different depths, and they each chose.

“I'm playing in the shallow one.”

“This water gun is the one that shoots really well!”

Afterwards they looked at photos of it.

“The slide was the best part.”

“Shooting the water gun was so fun.”

It's colored rain

An adult spread paint along a wall outside, and they sprayed at it with sponge water guns. The color ran down the wall.

“It's raining.”

“It's colored rain.”

They sprayed again and again, watching the colors run into each other, changing how hard they pressed and where they aimed.

The spraying turned into scooping and carrying, so plastic cups came out. They poured from cup to tub, and then found the holes in the cups.

“Water comes out here.”

“It comes down like rain.”

They held them up high and tipped them over.

It went soft like clay

They had made the water guns at home, out of recycling, and brought them in.

“This is the one I made.”

“Mine goes further.”

They sprayed newspaper until it was soaked through, then tore it up and worked it in their hands until it turned to pulp.

“It's like clay.”

“It went soft.”

There's a fire!

It was hot out, so the water guns came from home and they took them along the walking path. They filled them and started by watering the trees and the grass along the way.

Then one of them called it.

“There's a fire!”

The 119 crew went out. They gathered, and aimed at the tallest tree.

“Let's go put it out together.”

Once the fire was out they turned to the dry ground, drawing hearts and lines on it and watching the water spread out of the shapes.