DT: Planning and Making Boats

Lesson: Design and technology

Class: Rec P Year: 2025 - 2026

In Reception, our children love exploring how things work through hands-on play and investigation. As part of our learning, the children planned, designed and created their own boats using junk modelling materials such as boxes, bottles and cardboard.

The children talked about their ideas, chose materials carefully and worked together to build their boats. They then tested them in water, watching to see which boats floated and which sank. This led to lots of excitement, problem-solving and thoughtful discussions about why some designs worked better than others.

Through this activity, the children developed creativity, curiosity and early science skills, while also building confidence, teamwork and resilience. Most importantly, they had lots of fun learning through play!