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Contact_FullName: Heidi Contact_Email: hroggenbuck@yahoo.com date:: 1/20/02 Area: Sensory Idea: When coloring rice or noodles for the sensory table, use Liquid Watercolor from Discount School Supply. It's relatively inexpensive, goes a long way, makes BRIGHT colors and dries easily. Simply put the rice or noodles into a Ziploc bag. Add desired amount of liquid water color, squish around in bag until color is evenly distributed. Lay out to dry if necessary. This has worked much better for coloring rice and noodles for me! Also works well for coloring play-doh!
3-12-01Fill your table with water and antibacterial soap. Add sponges, dishes from housekeeping, and lots of towels. My students had lots of fun practicing washing and drying dishes.
2-20-01Rainbow Rice - I purchase regular dry white rice in bulk. Divide it up into Ziploc bags. Add a different color food coloring to each baggie. Zip shut very tightly and knead the bag to distribute the color throughout the rice. Add more coloring if needed. I use good quality food coloring (like Wilton) in a variety of colors - you can go "pastel" or "bright"! Then lay the rice out on a cookie tray or something like that to let it dry. Put the Rainbow Rice in the water/sand table with a variety of tools - buckets, spoons, small cars, etc. If you don't have a sand table, just put the rice in a large flat storage box, place on a big blanket for easy cleanup and let the kids have fun. My children love this activity!
2-20-01We have labeled our sensory table "The mystery table". We change out materials on a regular basis. Some ideas include: rice; fall leaves and soil with block play woodland animals (autumn); rice and black beans (Halloween), corn feed with a large and a small rock for crushing corn (Thanksgiving); oiled brown paper bag in water with basters (Thanksgiving); wrapping paper, small boxes, ribbon and tape (Christmas/Hanukah); Large block of ice floating in water ("iceberg"-winter), shaving cream, soil with child sized gardening tools or rubber snakes, insects, etc; ice with rock salt and jars of liquid water color and eyedroppers. Possibilities are endless!
1-15-01We've tried several different items in our sensory table (which we call the "discovery table"). One of the best is straws of all different shapes and sizes. At first, the kids like to simply scoop and pour them. Then we started hiding things in them. Then we started stringing them together. Finally, we cut them using scissors (tied to the table's legs so they wouldn't get buried). My kids have been known to use these straws for nearly a month without ever becoming tired! Another great item is bean-bag filler (the little Styrofoam balls you put inside beanbag chairs). We've used this like snow, and recently threw in some metal-lined transparent chips that come with magnetic kits. We then used magnetic wands and poles to go "ice-fishing". The kids loved it--they really had to be quiet and listen for the "fish" to "bite" (the chips make a small noise when it is attracted to the magnet and the filler is a quiet "white noise"). Usually you can find huge bags of the filler at Wal-Mart or Meijer for about $10--and you only need half a bag!
12-27-00At Christmas, put a small artificial Christmas tree, garland, plastic ornaments, etc. into your sand/water table. The children have fun decorating and redecorating the Christmas tree.
11-7-00Put fall leaves in your sensory table, and then put plastic bugs, snakes, spiders, and/or the rubbery fishing lures (no hooks, of course). There are worms, lizards, crawfish, and minnow shapes. The children love to dig in the leaves for these items.
11-5-00My preschool uses a lot of different ideas, we use pom-pom and use tongs to separate colors and sizes. We use package peanuts and hide things to find, things hidden have to do with the theme were working on. We also use Easter grass. Plastic Eggs to match. Rice, Beans, coffee grinds, macaroni, dirt, scrap paper to cut or tear, oats, corn, and shaving cream with food coloring to teach color concepts or science of mixing colors. Good luck, Its so much fun to make changes, the children look forward to it.
10-16-00While doing exploration of the different types of corn, I placed feeder corn in the water table. I "shucked" some of the corn and also placed some "unshucked" ears into the water table. The kids loved "shucking", scooping, and measuring the corn and it was a fun and different type of sensory activity in the water table.
10-7-00We just completed our fall unit and we put wheat in the sand table. We put farm animals and the tractors, etc. in with them. The children loved it and it was easier to clean up than sand. We bought a 40 pound bag at our local farm store for $6.
10-6-00For a new spin on regular water table play try lining the bottom of your water table with aluminum foil! It adds a cool shimmer to the water and the kids love it! You can add rocks, beads (Christmas tree garland type) and other various items. Be creative! Have fun!
9-17-00Everyone has plastic counting bears, they float in your water table! To add math, fine motor and science, I have large plastic tweezers (the kind that come in the Bed Bugs Game) and cups. The children pick up the bears with the tweezers and put them in the cups. The children use all kinds of number words, counting, and are really strengthening their little hands for writing.
9-4-00In the sensory table mix shaving cream and a bag of ice.
9-1-00In the spring, we purchase a roll of sod and lay it out in the sensory table. Add spray bottles with water so the children can "water the indoor lawn" and scissors to cut the grass. Animals and People are a great addition also. The children love to care for the grass, watch it grow, trim it and the feel is great.
8-15-00Freeze large empty containers full of colored and clear water. When frozen, put them in the sensory table with a few small containers of colored rock salt (1/4 c. rock salt mixed with Liquid water color--Discount school supply has it--microwave for 1-2 minutes). Let them discover (without you telling them what to do or what will happen!) what happens with the two ingredients! Also, colored rice can be made much more easily with the liquid water color, too. It requires virtually no drying time, and is non toxic and non-staining. Other sensory tub ideas: shaving cream, real clay with cups of water, cornmeal with all sorts of recycled stuff--plastic food containers, etc., birdseed, black and white beans mixed, Styrofoam with water--the possibilities are endless:-)
7-18-00We filled our sensory table with packing peanuts. The kind that are made of cornstarch. We add pails, shovels, and measuring scoops. When the novelty of this has worn off we add a small amount of water to these, the peanuts become sticky and the children can mold them into many shapes! Much fun for everyone!
7-16-00Go to a nursery and ask them for polymer crystals. take about a cup full and put them in the bottom of the water table, add water. Let it sit for a while (sometimes over night is good). They turn into a neat feeling Jell-O form. Add water colors After it is ready for different colors. The children love the feel. Add animals etc.
7-13-00Put all of your unwanted scrap construction paper in the sensory table with a couple pairs of children's scissors. They will tear, snip and cut at their developmental level.
7-13-00Get ears of shell corn from a local farmer or feed store. Let each child shuck and shell an ear of grain corn. It's great fine motor and lots of fun. After each child shells an ear of corn into the sensory table, there's enough to play in. The empty cobs can be used for art projects. (In the fall grain corn is very hard and dry, not soft like sweet corn.)
7-9-00I put old magazine pages inside and tie scissors to each corner. The kids get to practice their fine motor skills and love it. It works best with 2-3yrs, but even the 4's and 5's like it.
7-9-00In our sensory table we added unflavored Gelatin and the children injected food coloring into the Gelatin. ( We use medicine droppers). The children enjoyed see the colors penetrating the gelatin.
6-12-00Some ideas we have used & enjoyed include: colored pop corn seeds, split peas, cheerios, frozen peas & carrots ( on a hot afternoon), poker chips, & potato flakes. I save large clear container such as mouthwash containers so the kids can fill and then screw and unscrew the large lids. The black microwave meal trays are also the perfect size and color to fill and observe in.
6-4-00When doing various units with the sensory table we just use the regular things like sand, rice, corn etc... But then we put in various items like Zoo we put Zoo animals in along with the rice. For colors like blue we put blue things in along with the sand etc...
6-4-00For our snow unit we used white cotton balls in the sensory table. The 2's&3's sometimes liked to experience the tasting of the snow or really get rough with the items in the table, so the cotton balls worked well, cotton balls were also used for our clouds.
5-31-00Rock Garden - Collect many different rocks (Thundereggs, pumice, agate, crystal, obsidian, river rock or slate). Place an inch and a half of water in the sensory tub. Place the rocks in the tub. Provide scrub brushes and dry towels. This is best done outdoors in the sun. The rocks quickly dry in the sun. My children love to see the colors come alive with the water. I use this with my dinosaur unit.
ideaWe can't use playground sand in the church our preschool is in, so we make "SuperSand" out of coffee and cornmeal.
4-15-00I bought several Rubbermaid shoe box size containers when it was suggested at a conference to use salt as an alternate to sand at the sensory table, after a few days it got old for the kids so I took three cups of sand in a Ziploc bag and added 10 drops of food coloring and mixed it around until the salt was colored. The kids love it, we now have six colors that we have used for sensory play and lots of art projects. We will eventually mix it all together for a rainbow effect, but for almost a month they have kept it separated and only one child has tried to eat it!
Date: 4-10-00
areaSensory area A great dry activity for the sensory area is shredded paper. Most businesses are willing to give it away. The children love to hide toys in it and most of all, wear it on their heads.
Date: 3-11-00Use cooked spaghetti in your water table. You can color it according to your theme for the week. I used a little rubbing alcohol along with food coloring to color the spaghetti. I then put a little bit of baby oil to keep the spaghetti from drying out. It also let the children's hands soft and smelling great! They had a blast! Don't forget the tongs, bowls, etc.
Date: 3-8-00One of the most fun things we have done this year in our sensory table is to have different colored and sized pom-poms, mini muffin tins and tongs. We thought we were providing a sorting activity and the children surprised us by 'baking' delicious muffins for us. We tool their cue and read "The Muffin Man" and did a unit in baking!
Date: 3-6-00I glue magnets onto cardboard shapes and have fishing poles made from rulers (pole), pipe cleaners (line), and another magnet glued on the end. The kids fish for whatever theme we have. Planets, stars, fish, colored shapes etc.
Date: 2-26-00In my 4-year old class we try something new in our sensory table each week. The children's favorite so far is colored rice, but when talking about animals they enjoyed: feathers, birdseed with plastic Easter eggs, peanuts (real peanuts) with zoo animal figures, various shapes of dog biscuits, hay and cedar bedding. During transportation week we used trucks and sand, packing peanuts and cotton balls to simulate clouds, and water for boats.
2-16-00Sensory Table Turn your sensory table into a "bubble factory". Fill with water. Add lots of soap {AJAX dishwashing liquid is the best} Add a variety of bubble makers: berry baskets, toilet paper tubes, bubble wands, straws, bowls, eggbeaters and some turkey basters. Encourage children to experiment with the different ways to make bubbles. Have them wear smocks and cover the floor with an old sheet. Big fun!
Date: 2-2-00Two different ideas: Fill your sensory table with 2-3 inches of warm water. Add two large blocks of ice and turkey basters. Watch the chemical change of ice melting into water! Washable watered tempura or food coloring (will stain) can be added. Another fun idea is to use aquarium nets to "fish" with. Sink and float items are great to fish for. Don't forget the ping pong balls!
Date: 1-30-00We keep various sensory motor, "touch" tables stored to use often. We purchased 16x34x4" clear-plastic "Rubbermaid" tubs with lids. Our preschoolers enjoy the "measuring table" which has flour, measuring cups, measuring spoons, sifters, etc. to practice their measuring skills. Another favorite is our "rock quarry" in which blue-chip stones have been washed and stored in the container with hand-sized dump trucks, dozers, backhoes, etc. Another favorite is the "pasta table" in which just about any size, shape and color of pasta has been placed inside for the children to explore.
Date: 1-27-00In our sensory table at preschool, we have included buttons (there is so much to learn from them ... especially from the seconds!) We also have included small gourds for Halloween and colored cotton balls. In the Spring, we put coffee grounds in our sensory table and we give each child some plastic plants to "plant in the soil." They have a blast!
Date: 1-24-00The children have been interested in snow lately. I put cotton balls and glitter snow in the sensory table, along with shovels, cups and various other items. They have been in there for three weeks now. The children love it!
Date: 12-21-00Dry beans of many colors are great, with an egg carton that has been numbered 1-12 in each egg compartment. Children will be encouraged to count out beans to put in corresponding "cup", beans can be sorted by color, size, or just play in. Beans also provide an relaxing sound when a handful is dropped from a few inches above container. Add Rubbing alcohol to beans, rice, or sand and stir, the alcohol will prevent bugs, and sanitize, too! Rice can be colored with several drops of food coloring, then mixed well. Tracy tracyf@home.net Date: 1-19-00Try making a rainbow of color! I take uncooked rice and divide it up into different bowls. I then add one package of kool-aid and enough water so that the rice soaks up the color. I then place it on cookie sheets and warm it in the oven to help it dry faster. I then leave it out until it is hard and not sticky (usually overnight, depends on how much water you use.) When I pour it into the sensory bin I make rows side by side of all the different colors, like a rainbow. The kids love the bright colors and they great smell. We add scoops and pails etc. so they can mix it and pour it. The more you play with it the more the smell comes out!!
Contact_FullName: Erika Cricket2277@hotmail.com 10-17-00Multi colored curling ribbon cut into small 1 inch pieces. The children love this because it is very colorful. Then to extend this you can place plastic bugs or animals in it. My class really loves when I place the small colored jewels in it. I got them in the fish department at the pet store. This activity is great for kids 3 and up, like always please watch the children. Peg Psteach45@aol.com Date: 1-11-00A slight variation on someone else's great idea. Fill the water table with snow. Place 4 containers with different colored water in the corners. Paint the snow! Kathy Jennings01@earthlink.net Date: 1-11-00Sensory gloves: Add playdough or rice into a latex glove. Tie the top and watch them squish! Rebekah Anderson rslba@aol.com Date: 1-9-00Sand/Water table ideas 1. Put sand in the table and land vehicles 2. Put water in the table and boats 3. Put shaving cream in the table and space stuff. H.Marie Twisted_candi@hotmail.com Date: 1-9-00Due to the unnecessary purchase of two 20 pound bags of ice for Y2K emergency, I simply emptied our sand table, and poured in the ice! Just in time for "P" week, where the PENGUINS & POLAR bears live in the ICE! Tabitha tabithamitchell@aol.com Date: 1-7-00I put a toy barn in my sensory table, complete with tractors, farm animals and farmers. Then I add cracked corn and hay. The kids love pulling the corn in the tractors, and hiding the animals in the hay! Betsy betsy_brummett@yahoo.com Dater: 1-6-00Add latex gloves to the water table. Cut sections of plastic tubing in 18" sections. Kid will put the end of the tubing in the glove and hold on tight. Then blow through the other end. The gloves which are 1/2 full with water will grow and grow. I do this with 4's and 5's. They love it. (add a little bleach to the water) Laure patrickfam@msn.com Date: 1-5-00Place aquarium rock in the sensory table. This works best if you have enough aquarium rocks to hide the special rocks underneath. Add a variety of unusual polished rocks. (Local rock and mineral shows are great places to get inexpensive bags of polished rock.) Give the children various containers to collect the rocks. Also, scoopers, rakes and magnifying glasses. Sue molly@mcsi.net 1-3-00Fill the water table with cornstarch packing peanuts and add cups, spoons, scoops, etc for the children to explore with. Later give them small spray bottles with colored water and see what happens to the pellets (they will curl and shrivel, stick together, turn into paste.). They can be sculpted and molded, too. This lasted a good two weeks in my classroom. Miriam Torres
Date: 12-11-99Have your water table full and have the children sit in front of the table so they can watch. have the children take turns putting drops of food coloring in the water. Have them call out the name of the color that appears in the water so they can learn the colors and they can learn how to mix them to get other colors. It will also help them learn the primary colors. If you really want to have fun put bubble bath in the water so you get colored bubbles. Have a colorful time!! Tamara cougar43@hotmail.com 12-6-99Cut various lengths of yarn, ribbon of any sort, add small berry baskets, or, small mats of large holed needle point squares, and even let them weave up their masterpiece!
Laurice
elais@arex.xom Date: 12-4-99Have Styrofoam in the sensory table cut in little pieces until they look like tiny balls. Add a variety of objects such as shapes, animals, and other toy materials. Hide the objects underneath the Styrofoam and allow children to search for them. If you put light weighted objects too, children will notice that they stay more on top than the other ones. Have Fun!!! Carol ideaI filled my sensory table with pinecones, dry leaves, acorns and small stones. Then I hid lots of small rubber bugs, snakes, frogs and lizards in it and left a couple magnifying glasses. It was a big hit for several days. Date: 11-17-99kelly kelisu@aol ideaI use L'Oreal kids shampoo in my water table it comes in lots of great smells and the best part no tears if it gets in their eyes. Date: 11-14-99Courtney sidonzo@bellsouth.net ideaI like to keep sand in shallow Tupper-ware containers with lids. I put all of the various shovels, cups, cars, etc. in the container too. They store easily in closets and I can just pull them out and let the kids start playing. To clean up, just put everything back in the box and put on the lid! Date: 11-13-99Amy jhnag@aol.com ideaTo do this activity, you will need: 8 containers that film comes in, 2 rubber bands, 2 cotton balls, 2 paper clips, and 2 super balls. Place one object in each container. Place all of the containers on a table. Have a child shake the containers and match them by the way they sound. Date: 11-6-99Dhana dhana1@aol.com ideaWhat can you do with those large Styrofoam chunks that frequently come with anything sold in a box? I break it into different shapes, supply popsicle sticks and let my children build boats to float in the water table! They always float and provide hours of discovery. Date: 10-31-99Teresa felter@edge.net ideaI keep different color rice in my sand and water table. The children love it .I also add all kinds of little of trinkets such as measuring cups, water wheels, cars and the list goes on. Date: 10-31-99Betsie TashaPlus4@AOL ideaMake Goop (cornstarch and water). Mix to desired consistency. Add some black paint and plastic spiders, skeletons, and it has become Halloween activity. We have the children wear paint shirts but you can expect their nails to be slightly stained for a day of two. I know mine has been. Date: 10-31-99Barbara MrsBAS@webtv.net ideaIf you live in a seasonal area, dry colored leaves are a wonderful change for the sensory table during Autumn. My preschoolers love the crinkly crunchy sound and the smell is great too! :0) Date: 10-21-99stacey
ideaAt the beginning of the school year I put magazine pictures in the sensory table. The children then go over to "make their finger muscles stronger" by tearing the pictures. 10-19-99
Pat Pfull714@aol.com ideaDuring the last 2 weeks of October, I fill my sensory table with black beans or black sunflower seeds and add small plastic orange pumpkins. The kids enjoy the usual measuring and pouring but it gives a festive look! Date: 10-17-99patty
ideafill your water table with snow, fill two spray bottles with watered down washable tempera paint, in pink, and brown (to represent chocolate and strawberry ice cream). put ice cream scoopers, bowls spoons, plastic ice cream cones and plastic Dixie cups and let the children spray and serve up ice cream and snow cones. Just remember to remind the children not to eat the snow and that it doesn't taste good. Set up a cash register nearby with play money . Date: 10-11-99Judy pilgrimpost@msn.com ideaDuring our birthdays unit I placed a few hundred colored straws in the sand table. I added some scissors and the children snipped away. (Straws are great for scissor practice because one snip produces results!) When the straws where relatively small we removed the straws and added scoops and buckets, etc. With all the fancy colors it looked like a party in the sand table! Date Submitted: 9-19-99Heather hytucker@aol.com ideaMy preschoolers love to explore with sand in our sensory table. They just cannot get enough! After a month I decided we needed a change so I simply added water. The children can now sculpt castles and mold the sand into neat shapes. This is our version of the beach! Date Submitted: 9-19-99Vicki hilbert@theriver.com ideaI put about 30# of birdseed mixed with rice and pinto beans in my sand table. I put a lot of measuring devices in there plus funnels, spoons, cars . The kids love to measure and feel the mixture. Date: 9-9-99Barbara bewing@klondyke.net ideaRemember to use your natural resources in your Sensory table! sand, sticks, grass and rocks are great environments for animals & dinosaurs in the table! (or without animals) Add a little water after a few days and see what the children create! Snow is wonderful too. Ask the children to bring mittens to school, and have some extra pairs in case they forget, to be worn when they play with the snow indoors. We put a big rug under the table to catch spills and water to avoid slipperiness. A timer at the table helps to give everyone a chance to get their turn. Date: 9-9-99Alana GoddardWC@prodigy.net ideaDuring "Color" week, we added a different coloring to water each day. Along with the say, green water, we had green equipment (spoons, funnels, etc) to work with and to add another sense to the equation, we added peppermint extract to the water too. We had lemon extract for yellow, cinnamon for red, etc. Made the room smell great too! 8-27-99
Julie rwdavidson@yahoo.com Date: 8-19-99Put plastic fishing worms in a large sweater box filled 1/2 way with water. Have the children fish them out with their toes. It is so much fun. I did it with preschoolers and even did it in my two boys classes in Kindergarten and 4th grade. They had relays--30 seconds each person in the group and two tubs of worms. After each person went, we threw the worms back in for the next person. The team with the most worms collected wins. Great Fun!
Beth labookout@compuwise.net Date: 8-19-99In my in home preschool we use infant bathtubs for water tables. They are just the right size for 1 - 2 children to play in. I find them at garage sales and thrift stores for very little money. I place the tubs on top of the table and then carry them to the sink to drain.
Carol KidzRmylyf@aol.com Date: 8-19-99In the fall I put whole dried corn on the cob in my sensory table. This can be purchased in a pet store (used to feed squirrels) or if you have a contact on a farm you can get it free. The children "shuck" the corn. For you city folks, use their fingers to remove the corn from the cobs. After they have removed the corn it can stay in the table to play with like sand, and the corn cobs can be used to paint with. Dip in paint and roll them on paper. This is a great fine motor activity and children of all ages love it...even teenagers!
liz Sch1432@aol.com Date: 7-12-99Home made Silly Putty: This can be a wonderful sensory exploration activity for preschoolers and up. Add equal parts of white glue and liquid starch to a small bowl. 1/2 a cup of each is good to start with. Liquid starch can be found at your local grocery store . Mix with hands or a plastic spoon and let sit over night, Doesn't have to be thoroughly mixed. Mix again the next day to desired consistency. The mix, if left in your hands, can be runny or stringy so supervise young children at first. have fun!!
Crystal EmearldDov@aol.com Date: 7-12-99Try plenty of playdough in your sand & water table. Less clean up than on a table and perfect for the letter "P"
Amy peavey
Date: 7-9-99During a lesson on flowers, we placed sand in the sand table and put plastic flowers in the table. We also placed several pots and hand shoves in the table. They were also provided spray bottles filled with water. The children could not get enough!! Lynne Mrslynne@aol.com Date: 6-28-99I put shredded paper in the water table, and added magnetic items, and magnet wands, the children can go on a treasue hunt for different items. Make sure you give them a cup to place their finds in! Cheryl CBSHINFORMATION@PRODIGY.NET Date: 6-28-99When using water in your Sensory Table, try this: Clean 1 liter soda bottles and the caps. With a drill (or awl), make 3 small holes in the bottom of the bottle. Fill will water and cover. When you unscrew the cap, the water comes out the bottle. When you tighten the cap, the water stays in the bottle. For younger preschoolers, this is almost MAGICAL and they will twist and untwist again and again which will help their gross motor skills. For older children, this is a great way to discuss air and pressure. NOTE: AS WITH ANY ACTIVITY-IF YOU STILL HAVE CHILDREN IN THE MOUTHING STAGE, FOR THEIR SAFETY- DO NOT USE ANY MATERIALS SMALLER THAN THE OPENING OF A TOILET TISSUE TUBE. Sharie Date: 5-25-99Water-I added rubber fish found in the bait department of a store and then added a couple of the small nets used to catch minnows. This is always a big hit with in my preschool classroom. To make it more real you can always add blue food coloring to the water.
Angela Date: 5-25-99During our unit on pets, we fill the sensory table with dog food and stuffed animals, dog food dishes, measuring devices, etc. The children love feeding their "animals".
Kristi Date: 5-25-99Bugs in the Grass----I place green Easter grass in the sensory table, add plenty of plastic bugs, snakes, butterflies, etc. The children love looking for the critters, and then trying to identify them. Books about insects can be placed close by so they can try to look up the bugs , and try to match them up with the ones in the sensory table.
Kathleen Date: 5-25-99This is really my friend Tucky's idea! She put Mardi Gras beads into the table and then added scissors, bowls, and big tweezers to pick up the different sized balls that were cut from the beads. Some of the things I saw the kids do this week--measure lengths of the bead strings, sort beads by size and color with the tweezers, and the scissors provided wonderful eye-hand coordination with cutting the little strings in between the beads! The kids had a ball!
Romy Date: 5-25-99Clean Mud: For a different, fun, gooey feel, mix 1 roll white toilet paper, 1 bar grated Dove Soap (grate with a cheese grater), and warm water (make the water warm enough to melt the soap). Let the kids tear up the toilet paper into small pieces. Put into big bowl or bin with grated soap. Pour in water in small amounts while mixing paper and soap with hands. Enough water has been added when the mixture is the consistency of thick cool whip. The more you work it the softer it becomes!! My kids have a blast with it!! (and it smells good too) You can save clean mud in an airtight container. If it seems dry when you go to use it again just add a little warm water and mix. I got this idea from an FCC monthly handout given to Family Childcare Providers, while stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. It's been a favorite ever since!!
Romy Date: 5-25-99Water Bin: For those of us doing In Home Family Childcare, I have a great, inexpensive, Water Bin (or Sand Bin! Purchase a "Craft Storage Bin" that has two removable trays in it (on the ends). They can be purchased for approximately $12.00 at Wal.Mart. They just deep enough for water or corn meal, etc. and long enough to fit at least 4-6 small kids around. I place it on the floor with large towels around it and fill with water toys (detergent scoops, plastic spoons, medicine dispensers, small rags, empty pop bottles, detergent bottles, ice trays, yogurt cups, plastic lids, formula scoops, gravy basters, etc. I save everything that looks like it might have the possibility of some FUN. It's cheap and if it gets broken or lost it can almost always be replaced immediately!) This is a fun, inexpensive way to have a water table that can have just as many possibilities as the water tables you see in the Daycare Centers and preschools. I have several of them filled with different things for different times. (Water, cornmeal, rice, birdseed, oatmeal, etc.)
Rachele Rchele1070 Date: 5-25-99If you are planning a unit on teeth and ways to keep them healthy, try putting tubes of toothpaste and various sized toothbrushes into your sensory table. The children love to squeeze the toothpaste out and brush the table with it. Be sure you like the smell of mint, because the room will become quite pungent after a while.
Gwenda Date: 5-25-99My children love to dig for Dino bones in the sand table. I get large bones from a local butcher, boil them, and paint them white. I then dust them with baby powder when they are just about dry. As the children search for dino bones, they use paint brushes to remove the dust and excavate like a real archaeologist. Children also wear pre-made hats and gloves while digging and hang a sign near the table displaying "Do Not Disturb, Archaeologist at Work!" Becky Date: 4-18-99The kids in my class love it when I cover the bottom of the sensory pan with aquarium rocks and fill it the rest of the way with water. I then scatter small rubber fish (purchased at K-Mart in the fishing department) in the water and let them use little fish nets (from the pet store) to catch the fish and put them in buckets. This is a great opportunity to work on sorting and counting as the kids fish! Kristina Date: 3-20-99You put water in the table . (as much as you want) You add bars of soap. It will make the water really slimy and gooey! The children will love it.
Gail Date: 3-20-99I've found that my Pre-Schoolers love to 'rip' things-sometimes our library books! So, I now provide an area where they can LET 'ER RIP~I fill our sand table with old newspaper,wrap- ping paper, etc. They now know that ripping is o.k. if it is done in the proper place!
Angela aricang@epix.net Date: 3-20-99During our unit on pets, we fill the sensory table with dog food and stuffed animals, dog food dishes, measuring devices, etc. The children love feeding their "animals".
Kristi Date: 3-20-99Bugs in the Grass----I place green Easter grass in the sensory table, add plenty of plastic bugs, snakes, butterflies, etc. The children love looking for the critters, and then trying to identify them. Books about insects can be placed close by so they can try to look up the bugs , and try to match them up with the ones in the sensory table. Sheri Date: 3-14-99I work with infants and toddlers and they just love the sensory table. Some of their favorites are: foam soap, feathers, packing peanuts and most of all...WATER. One idea that is fun and messy is "clean mud" and it's very simple to make. Mix equal parts of dry flake soap (check for allergies to detergent soaps) and water and mix together with a roll or so of toilet paper. The kids love to shred and mix this crazy concoction and the smell so fresh after playing..lol. Have fun!! Sherry Date: 1-19-99The children in my family daycare home just love the sensory table. Each week I put some thing in different. Some ideas. Rice, pasta which are both colored with 2 teaspoons food coloring (any color for the themes) and 3 teaspoons rubbing alcohol. The children love dumping and filling all kinds of objects. I filled it with cotton balls for (snowballs) in the month of January. They are still having lots of fun yet.. Name: Sarah Date: 1-17-99Because we have had a lot of it lately, I have filled the sensory table with snow. The children use gloves when they play in it. We have not been able to play outside-too cold, so we brought the outside in! I wonder if parents believe that we really do build snowmen indoors!
Mary Date: 1-17-99Two things that have been very popular in our sensory table. For a unit on Arctic animals we filled our table with water, added blue icebergs (blue food coloring added to bowls of water, then freeze.) We added plastic penguins, polar bears,etc.. In the spring we filled the table with charcoal and potting soil then planted grass seed! We put wooden blocks down for roads and after the grass sprouted we added cars, trucks and farm animals. To end the project, we let the children "mow the lawn" with scissors.
Margaret Davey MDavey1492 Date: 1-17-99Use Easter grass and colored Easter eggs and any small object that fits your theme.Ex Magnetic letters plastic farm animals, milk lids with the child's name in it. hide the small objects in the plastic eggs. Put the Easter grass and eggs in the sensory table. The children try and find two of the same object. Use different objects to fit the theme. animals names colors letters numbers shapes etc. Name: Michelle Date: 1-17-99We have used such a variety of things in our sensory table...almost anything goes! Try beans, rice, sand, birdseed... We even filled it with asst. nuts for Christmas time (donated by a local food distributor), then used nutcrackers to crack them open and had a tasting party. Also - shredded metallic orange and black paper for Halloween with little spider rings to hunt for; seashells for a beach theme; magnetic wands and assorted magnetic chips and balls; small alphabet letters hidden in Styrofoam peanuts; macaroni/pasta; etc.! The kids love to experiment with sorting and measuring and the textures are great! Madeline Date: 1-17-99Freeze water in different shape containers. When frozen take out the ice and have the children ice sculpt using salt to have the ice stick together. You can also color the water before freezing to make for more colorful sculptures. It is also helpful to have gloves because the ice gets cold. Brenda Date: 1-9-99Use Styrofoam packing pieces. There are different kinds and shapes - the more the better. Let them tear them or break them apart. Use scissors another day. Add some water another day and watch them float. Have them use tongs to move them from one side to another. They'll start sticking to things because of the static too. Find a big appliance box and let them play in the Styrofoam peanuts in the box. (I read this in several different places so it's not my original idea). Lisa Date: 12-28-98For a winter activity, we put shaving cream in our fluid table, add trucks and plow those "snowy" roads. It's one of the children's favorites! Daylene Date: 12-26-98Fill your sensory table with old bows from your Christmas presents and tissue paper from gift bags! You can even throw in some gift bags for the children to stuff :) tracey Date: 12-21-98In the toddler room I work in I filled my sand/water table with packing peanuts, the children love it plus it goes with the season. it can be related to snow . Mary Tubebunny@aol.com Date: 12-15-98I filled my table with salt and sprinkled glitter in it. Accessories to explore with are small scoops (like the kind that come in the lemonade can) small jars and bottles with lids. This sounds dangerous but the won't eat it and they feel quite trustworthy to be using glass bottles and jars. This is done on a carpeted area and I've had no problems with this at all. You can use rice and add cars, small dinosaurs etc. Lisa Tangin@aol.com Date: 12-9-98I use dry instant mashed potatoes in my sensory table. After a few days I add warm water just enough to wet the potato flakes- it can be made firm enough to make balls or whatever they want to create. We also compare consistencies,weight, and other properties after the water was added. The kids truly "dig" the potato creations they make! Janelle
Date: 12-5-98For a change of pace, substitute a child-sized swimming pool for your sensory table! Pat pjm1169@bedford.net Date: 12-3-98In the fall, I purchase dried, unhusked corn from a local farmer or feed corn from a farm supply store. When placed in our Discovery Table, our preschoolers and kindergartners love to husk the corn and flick off the kernels. Measuring cups, funnels, tubes, and spoons can also be added to the table. We use the shelled corn in art projects or we take it to the local park to feed the ducks. Great fun! Pat pjm1169@bedford.net Date: 12-3-98During December, I gather up as many different small gift boxes (jewelry and cookie/snack sizes), both metal and cardboard. These are placed in the Discovery Table. Our preschoolers and kindergartners enjoy matching the tops and bottoms. They also enjoy hiding small objects in the boxes for friends to find. An excellent activity for eye and hand coordination as well as seriating. Kim K7224@aol.com Date: 11-7-98During the Christmas holiday season, I put lots of gift bows in various colors and sizes in our manipulative table. Children are encouraged to sort them according to color or size. This Date: 11-7-98 also works at Easter with plastic eggs in various colors and sizes. Mary Tubebunny Date: 10-31-98I use salt with added things such as glitter,spices or dry tempera. With this I may put small dinosaurs, small jars with lids and tiny scoops, other small plastic items, shells etc. They can measure etc. Rice is good with dishes from the housekeeping corner or small cars and trucks Soapy water and sponges to wash dolls etc. Name: Jane Janiepet@aol.com Date: 10-25-98I teach 4 yr. olds who tire quickly of the same old stuff so I try to change my sensory table monthly. Here are some of my Date: 10-25-98s: oatmeal, cornmeal, macaroni, colored macaroni/pasta (see recipe below), sand, colored sand, bubble wrap(large bubbles work best), packing peanuts, birdseed, rice. Coloring rice or pasta: Need a large mason jar or mayonnaise jar. Put in about 1/2 inch of rubbing alcohol, add several drops of food coloring (at least 20 drops) add rice or pasta about 3/4 full. Put on lid. Shake back and forth several times to coat. Empty out onto paper toweling. Air dry. When completely dry store in ziplock plastic bags. 10-25-98 Name: Stacey 10-25-98 Name: lindy 10-21-98 Name: Pam **For Christmas, we use shredded paper(packing shreds) .**For Winter, use styrofoam peanuts. Several companies make the boi-degradable ones that "melt" when they get wet. We get permission from the principal to use water guns to watch the snow melt! **For Spring- use potting soil **For Easter- use Easter grass and hide eggs **For Special Needs Students that need texture, I have used a mixture of different types of noodles and beans. For color you can add colored popcorn kernels. 10-14-98 Name: Amber 10-7-98 Name: andy 10-7-98 Name: Nancy 10-6-98 Name: Jen 9-24-98 Name: Cindi 9-23-98 Name: Chastity 9-14-98 Name: Laura E-Mail: LGGorman I like to put dried whole seaweed in our water table. I buy it from a Japanese grocery store. Once wet, the seaweed feels like it never left the ocean! Plus the water table smell like the ocean. 9-14-98 Name: Katie E-Mail: buddah_79@hotmail.com In your water play area you can add liquid dish detergent and then using an old fashioned egg beater with the manual crank mix the waters and soap up. You may wash plastic toys and/or baby dolls.With sand you can put some sand in a plastic zip lock bag and add some crushed up chalk (colored) and shake it. It should after shaking for sometimes color coat the sand. You can also do this with salt instead of sand. 9-14-98 Name: Jackie E-Mail: ChipNDip@Fiam.net In the sand table, Add a large jar of gold glitter, and sea shells. Your Munchkins will think that they are at the beach, even in the middle of the winter! Surfs up! 9-2-98 Name: Jennifer E-Mail: jmjamesipass.net I put beans in the sensory table and mix in a bag of ABC pasta. I give each child a tray. They love looking for the letters and spelling their names. 9-2-98 Name: Alison E-Mail: cooter697@aol.com Our preschoolers love when we change our water table into a scrap table! We save little scraps to add throughout the year (it's recycling too!) including paper in all colors, feathers, pom poms, etc., along with scissors both straight egde and silly edges, hole punchers, shape punchers, etc. for them to try and experiment with. They love making new things in the scrap table!!!!! 9-2-98 Name: Elaine E-Mail: erobinso@mail2.yuba.cc.ca.us When you take the water table outside, instead of filling it with the hose, let the children fill it with little jars and buckets from the faucet. This extends the filling and pouring activity and involves as many children as you have cups and buckets for. 9-2-98 Name: Carol Ann E-Mail: cdbechar@navnet.net Add some Easter grass & plastic sea animals to water play. The Easter grass feels very much like seaweed. 8-26-98 Name: Kathy E-Mail: wyhtak@aol.com Turkey basters make a great addition to the sand/water table. Wonderful way to build small muscle control. Watch out for water squirters!!! 8-8-98 Name: Erica E-Mail: toner5@gte.net Some things we love to keep in our sensory table for kids to explore freely are: water: include things like soap (baby shampoo), food coloring, bath oils/beads, powder, etc.sand, potting soil/dirt, popcorn (popped and unpopped) (unpopped can be noisy), flourrice (dyed with food coloring), pasta (all types), flax, seed, chicken scratch, walnut shells (crushed/uncrushed), egg shells, jello, coffee grounds, styrofoam packing material (you can purchase this made from corn starch and it's edible, great if you have an "eater") shaving cream, paint, pine cones (check for allergies), leaves, pumpkin residue!! bird seed!! For those things you can't find, look at your local farm supply store. They have great things to offer!!! 8-8-98 Name: katy E-Mail: CZAJKOWSKI@aol.com When discussing dino's or fossils with your Preschooler's, you can try taking a rectangular baking pan or 2 and filling it half way with water and small plastic insects/bugs and freezing it. Later, when that half is completely frozen, fill to the top with more water and insects and let it freeze. The next day, take the ice and insect mixture out of the pan and into the texture table. Give kids metal spoons to dig for the "fossils". I recommend limiting the # of kids to 3, for safety. The children came up with some other good ways to dig the "fossils" out also, like warm water over the top of the ice. 7-20-98 Name: Glenda E-Mail: bhingley@pacificcoast.net One of the most delightful grains to have in your sensory area is flax. It feels incredibly silky as it runs through your fingers and pours and runs through funnels well. If you add water to it, it becomes gelatinous and very slippery! 7-17-98 Name: Maureen E-Mail: electrickids@hotmail.com Mix a combination of cornmeal, coloured rice or alphabet pasta and Red River cereal. Colour the rice using alcohol and food colouring. This mixture is colourful and visually interesting. Add a few toys that match your theme and you're all set.(Red River cereal is available in Canada, look near the oatmeal at the grocery store) 7-17-98 Name: Anna E-Mail: Ottx0026@tc.umn.edu URL: http://www.umn.edu/adcs/ We've put fresh potting soil and live earthworms in our sensory table! It takes roughly 25 lbs. of moist potting soil and two to three dozen earthworms... the worms will last for two to three days. We also add small bowls for the children to put the worms into. Some of the children get squimish, and others grab fistfuls! Any leftover live worms can be placed in an outdoor garden, and once the potting soil is dried out, it can be used again for other purposes. (If you'd like to feed your earthworms, mix some cornmeal into the soil.) 7-17-98 Name: Alison E-Mail: cooter697@aol.com We froze water ballons in the freezer overnight. We took them out the next day and tore off the balloon and discarded. We then added the ice balls to the table, they all had a great time with them! 7-5-98 Name: shelby E-Mail: scjangels Use the amyway packing peanuts in your sand table. Let children play with them, then let them add water to the peanuts. They will dissolve in the water. These are the only packing peanuts that will do this. It is alot of fun. 7-4-98 Name: Jennifer E-Mail: princess17@snet.net I save empty film canisters for use in my sensory table. 7-3-98 Name: rebecca E-Mail: rss1213@hotmail.com Put sawdust in the sensory table along with some cars and dumptrucks. Children love to scoop up the sawdust and make hills! 7-1-98 Name: Marilyn E-Mail: Cabana 94@aol.com For a totally different sensation, try cooled, cooked spaghetti in the sensory table. I took the tub out of the stand and placed in on the floor on a rubber mat for my toddler class. They loved to squeeze and squish it. 6-30-98 Name: ginny E-Mail: Msginyedu@aol.com For fun in the water table, try putting ice cube trays and colored tops from milk, juice or water bottles and have the kids pick them up with grabbers, either tongs or "cutsey" grabbers from the toy store. Pick up and put the lids into the trays for lots of good eye-hand, one-to-one, etc. Talk about how many, how many needed, how many of each color, etc. Our kids use water tables outside and this has been great fun. 6-20-98 Name: elizabeth E-Mail: robbie1@webaccess.net Provide turkey basters in the water play area to help fine motor and eye-hand skills. 6-13-98 Name: Kari E-Mail: markkari@gateway.net Sand/Water Table: For an ocean unit, or just for fun, purchase a bag of shark teeth from Ben Franklin, bury them in the sand table, & let students sift sand to find them. (On a recent vacation, I found real shark teeth fossils by sifting sand in Florida.) 6-13-98 Name: Alysse E-Mail: rainwhenidie@hotmail.com Marine Water Table: In the water table place different marine animals. Let the children explore each animal, talking about its' name and the sound it makes. 6-11-98 Name: Kari E-Mail: markkari@gateway.net Buy a bag of fake gems (as can be sewn on clothing or used for fake stained glass art projects) and bury them in your sand table. Students LOVE shoveling & sifting through sand to discover these buried treasures. 6-9-98 Name: Lindy E-Mail: btuttle@slip.net We are having great fun with spray bottles filled with diluted liquid water colors, and small trays of salt (I think rock salt will work too). As the kids get more coordinated with the spray bottles (small to medium best), you can add smaller pouring things like specimin bottles or clear plastic measuring cups. 6-6-98 Name: Linda E-Mail: LLJRSKI@aol.com Since I work with toddlers, we need to be careful what we put in sensory table. These things have worked well: 1. shredded tissue paper (green) is "grass"--then put toy plastic animals/or dinosaurs in the tall "grass" to play with. 2. a table filled with rice krispie type cereal--since uncooked rice can't be used in our room. Then put in spoons, ladles, bowls. If they eat it, it's safe, although we don't encourage it since many hands are in the table! 3. colored cotton balls, large pompoms, colored feathers and spoons, bowls, etc. 5-27-98 Name: Kim E-Mail: kardtrip@erols.com We used scissors and various scrap papers, news print and colorful magazines in our sensory tubs. Not only did it aid in small motor skills development but also ended children's frustration with clean up of scraps while practicing. 5-26-98 Name: Christina E-Mail: tinabattle@aol.com For an interesting experience. I mixed cornstarch with water. I feels really weird and the children loved the experience. After it has settled them can scrape it off of the bottom to play with it. I added a few drops of color for a visual and some little funnels and small children's gardening tools to scrape it up with. 5-26-98 Name: Cherilyn E-Mail: CherilynR@aol.com Here is a cheap way to make your own sand and water tables. Take a large plastic sweater box and decorate it. Then glue it to a plastic table and add sand or water! 5-26-98 Name: AmySue E-Mail: txbarbrat@aol.com When we did our unit on water I went to the craft store and purchased some of that foam board in various colors. Then I cut out about a zillion little fishies in all shapes and sizes. They float in the water table and the kids love to catch the fish with the small aquarium fish nets!! 5-26-98 Name: Kim E-Mail: tgaebel@city-online.com Washing babies In your water/sand table, fill with warm water and soap for bubbles. Put in some sponges or washclothes, & some all plastic dolls from dramatic play, and have the children bathe them & wash their hair. Children will spend all their time doing this activity. It may also help children who don't like taking baths. 5-20-98 Name: Kristi E-Mail: mnb2b@mci2000.com During Earth Week, we filled the water table with water and then had various kinds of "pollution" for the children to add to the "lake" (coffee grounds, cigarette butts, banana peels, apple core, pop can, egg shells, candy & gum wrappers) Then we talked about how pollution affects people and animals that might want to drink or swim in the lakes and rivers that are polluted. 5-18-98 Name: Sandra E-Mail: Bander@webtv.net Mixing rock salt and table salt is a wonderful sensory experience! Add sand-sifters to the table for added fun (Great for snow/winter themes) 5-18-98 Name: Stephanie E-Mail: barrysn@mail.milwaukee.k12.wi.us We put birdseed in the water table and bury foam letters in it. The children feel for a letter and guess what it is by touching it. I bought the foam letters at the Dollar Store. 5-18-98 Name: Pam E-Mail: mpsnyder@castles.com My kids love to have birdseed in the touch table. Add cups, containers, & scoops for pouring and filling. I also added one of those sand sifters. The kids will try to figure out why some of the seeds go through but others wont. It keeps my kids amused for quite some time but it can get a little messy. Its definitely for outside. 5-12-98 Name: Kirsten E-Mail: kod@frontiernet.net While studying bugs I put plastic Easter grass in the water table and hide plastic bugs in the grass. The children enjoy looking for bugs inside the classroom as well as out. 5-12-98 Name: Teri E-Mail: teri123@yahoo.com I set up a chemistry lab in my discovery table. I put baking soda, flour, salt, vinegar, oil, red water, clue water and yellow water. I put these in small containers with a 1/2 teaspoon in the flour and salt and eye droppers in the others. I then gave each child a small baby food jar and a popsicle stick for stirring. This was their test tubes. I encouraged them to experiment by mixing different things and seeing what happens. They were amazed when their solution started bubbling (baking soda and vinegar) and when they somehow got green water when they had no green water to start with. They rinsed their test tubes after each experiment. This was a GREAT activity!!! I hope you try it with your class! 4-28-98 Name: MARIA E-Mail: mcalcagno@sprint.ca Our theme last week and this week has been " April showers bring May flowers". Last week we had in our sensory box green coloured water with foam lily pads, and frogs. This week we have soil, plastic flower pots, shovels and silk flowers. The children are having a great time planting flowers. 4-28-98 Name: Kim E-Mail: kimmer418@aol.com A great sensory table idea - "Supersand "Supersand = equal parts cornmeal and coffee grounds. Feels wonderful and smells great, too! 4-25-98 Name: denise E-Mail: dadams2584@aol.com I've been using beans in the sensory table for years and the children have always loved them. I've found that lining the sensory table with a piece of fabric cuts down on the noise of the beans being stirred, poured, shoveled. This has been especially important to me since I have two children in my class that wear hearing aides. 4-22-98 Name: ginny E-Mail: Msginnyedu@aol.com We have been learning about tadpoles, frogs and ponds. I put some real tree limbs (logs) and some rubber frogs in the water table. Some of the frogs have squeezers that croak and will blow bubbles if you put some soap in the water. The children have been learning the song "Five Green and Speckled Frogs", they love to line the frogs up on the logs and have them jump into the "pool". 4-21-98 Name: Jill E-Mail: juher@kiwi.dep.anl.gov For St. Patrick's Day I dye rice green with food coloring and alcohol. Then I spray paint lima beans gold and hide ten in the table and the children hunt for the gold. They really enjoy this and they have to search for the correct number of gold pieces. 4-20-98 Name: Ann E-Mail: AMNanny@AOL.com I work with toddlers and they love when I add different scented extracts to the watertable. Butterscotch and peppermint are the most aromatic. Your classroom also smells wonderful during water play too. Add food coloring for even more sensory fun. 4-19-98 Name: Jamie E-Mail: jamiesmilz@aol.com Loads of great ideas on this bboard! We have done pretty much the same, however, instead of using the term, sand/water table (when its not only used with those items!) or a sensory table, which is a little unclear for preschoolers (and doesn't sound very fun!), we use the term, "Touch Table" for all activities there. They LOVE to play in the touch table! 4-15-98 Daylene Jello Fun Make up a box of Knox jello according to the directions on the box EXCEPT omit 1/2 a cup of the water called for. You can also add food coloring. Pour into a shallow container. Chill until set. When the jello is firm, pop it out of the container and cut into cubes. Add the cubes to your sensory table and have wiggly, jiggly fun!!! 4-13-98 Name: Barbara E-Mail: BarbMc93@aol.com We did a unit on measuring. I collected and cleaned various shaped bottles, salad dressing (8 oz.clear plastic), water bottles( clear plastic 12-16 oz.), and small soda bottles. I drew lines of different colors with permanent markers on them 1 inch apart. The children were challenged to fill the bottles only to the "red" line, or "blue" line then compare , which has more? They played with those bottles for weeks at free play time!!! 4-13-98 Name: Alisa E-Mail: Alisa_Mudge@Bigfoot.com I put the magnet marbles in with cornmeal and the magnet wands. Then I lay plexiglass ontop so they can maneuver the marbles with the wands from underneath 4-13-98 Name: Jane E-Mail: walkerj@monroe.k12.ga.us For a very pleasant sensory experience, add flower petals to your sand table. Ask your local florist for discarded flowers. Pull the petals off and place them in your sand table. The children can compare sizes, discuss shapes, identify colors, smell, feel different textures,etc. 4-10-98 Name: Debbie E-Mail: debjim@storm.ca We also use the sand/water table as a sensory table and one of the favourites for the toddlers and young preschoolers is flour (not too much) with matchbox type tractors, ploughs, combiners, etc. 4-10-98 Name: Sandy E-Mail: mriva@iafrica.com South Africa Save all those egg shells, well washed and disinfected. Children enjoy crushing them with wooden rolling pins, old blocks etc. We have also collected tea leaves from tea bags, dry them well and open the bags -- a lovely fine mixture to use for finger drawing, driving cars through . 4-10-98 Name: Tracy E-Mail: WWW.STCC.EDU.COM Fill water table with water, seashells and other ocean finds. Then put in real fish. Have the children put on real snorkeling masks and dunk their mask only in the water. Their hair may get a little wet but they have a great time snorkeling. Editors Note: Make sure that this activity is supervised by an adult at all times. 4-10-98 Name: Debbie E-Mail: debjim@storm.ca I often make a dinosaur village in the sand table. Using a variety of the dinosaur toys in addition to sticks, leaves, a few stones and "trees" (small branches with leaves still attached.) 3-26-98 Name: Mary E-Mail: teacoll@juno.com For Easter, I put Easter grass in my sand table and take plastic eggs, small and large, and separate them. Have the children hunt for the egg halves that match (by color and size) and put the eggs together. 3-23-98 Name: Bannister E-Mail: nic.bannister@zen.co.uk Put assorted metal and non metal objects in the sand tray, and let the children hunt for treasure using magnets. 3-23-98 Name: Mandy E-Mail: BHpre@aol.com In the sand and water table I found a mixture of beans and rice or a variety of dry beans (pinto, black beans, split peas, kidney, etc.) is a great way to introduce sorting into the center. Even if the children are not interested in sorting, the textures are a definite change. Another good item to try is grits in the sand area. 3-18-98 Name: Berta E-Mail: BERTNSAV Place hay in sand table along with farm animals and magnifying glasses. Discuss importance of hay with children as food, source of warmth and system to keep barn clean. 3-17-98 Name: Kim E-Mail: fancy22@aol.com Another great idea for toddlers is to put flour into the sensory table..to make it even messier add a litlle bit of water to the mixture...they will enjoy getting their hands all sticky! 3-17-98 Name: Kim E-Mail: Fancy22@aol.com I work with toddlers and we have to be careful what we put in our sensory table because they put everything in their mouths....but one activity they loved was colored sugar...it was a little sticky..but when they were done they loved to lick their fingers! 3-9-98 Name: Marge E-Mail: mtc61b@hotmail.com You have got to try this over Spring Break. On the last day before break, fill the table with soil. Let the kids plant various bean seeds. Sprinkle lots of various grass seeds over the top and barely cover. Water the seeds and put a clear piece of plastic over the whole table. Put in a location where it will get some sun light while you are gone or leave under a grow light. When you come back, you will have a jungle. Put a bunch of animals in there or anything else you can think of. The kids like to use scissors and give the grass a hair cut. They can also pull clumps up and look at the root systems. If you're brave you can put some real worms in there! It is well worth the trouble! Have fun! 3-8-98 Name: Mary E-Mail: teacoll@juno.com I put styrofoam chunks, golf tees and plastic hammers in our water/sand table. The children loved this. They also enjoyed it with eye goggles and tool belts. This was so fun and did great for hand eye coordination. It did get a little noisy some days! 3-3-98 Name: Carol E-Mail: achildswonderland@integrityonline4.com A great tactile idea is styrofoam peanuts with plastic winter flakes mixed in. My class loved it, as we used it to finish up our winter theme in our preschool. 3-3-98 Name: Sharon E-Mail: srfsmf@swbell.net Panning For Gold I take aquarium stones that are found at most pet shops. I take some of the stones and spray paint them gold. The children have access to sifters or beach toys that can sift sand. We usually let them "pan" for gold the first day or so, then we give them large dice to roll for the number of gold stones they need to pan for. Our class usually ties this unit in with our cowboy theme, but it can be used at any time! area: 3-1-98 Name: Gina... E-Mail: burkhard@ecsu.campus.mci.net Some materials that I have used or that I have seen used in the sensory table are: oatmeal/rolled oats ( from experience-lightest materials when the table is moved, also rolled oats are "cleaner" with less/no dust) beans rice macaroni sand cornmeal foam "peanuts" newspaper/magazine pages water/ice (plain or colored) 3-1-98 Name: Tammy E-Mail: lg55130@navix.net This week as we were exploring our healthy bodies I wanted something a little different for the water table. I took the tub insert out of the frame and put it on the floor. The kids sat in chairs on either side of the tub and played in the shaving cream in the tub with their feet! Yes, we washed the feet both before and after getting into the tub. It was very slippery, so no one was allowed to stand without the teacher's help, but they LOVED IT! 2-28-98 Name: Sharon E-Mail: sm-hoefling@osg.net The children love it when I add coloured fish tank gravel in the water table. The colours are vibrant, it's fun to scoop and we add plastic fish for fun! 2-17-98 Name: Lucie E-Mail: MMELucie Water Table Fun Prepare colored ice cubes using food coloring. Drop a few in the water table. Children can watch the cubes melt. Extend this activity by combining colors: blue and yellow for green; red and yellow for orange; blue and red for purple. I've also started the day with colored water and added the second color so the children can see the change. Alan Baker's book White Rabbit's Color Book is a wonderful way to add literacy to this activity. Read before or after their experience with the ice cubes. Should you be lucky enough to have snow to put in the table, add ice colored ice cubes to the snow so that children can compare melting time. COOL FUN!!! 2-13-98 Name: Robin E-Mail: Rohde@gvtc.com This is an idea about what "not" to do! I have a measurement area in my room. My mistake was placing the sand tub next to the rice and seed tub. On a Friday, lima beans were "planted" in the sand by a future farmer of America. On Monday, the beans had germinated and fermented! That was one very smelly discovery. My advice is - keep these two wonderful activities on opposite sides of the room! 2-13-98 Name: Sally E-Mail: Spinny002@aol.com If you are doing a cowboy, Wild West, Texas or California unit try this in your sand: Have your students pan for gold. Spray paint several small rocks gold and bury them throughout the sand. Using sifters, the children sift through the sand to find the gold nuggets. 2-9-98 Name: Kim E-Mail: KSchult933@aol.com This is a combination Sand table and Art Project. Children dig a hole in wet sand that is in the sand table.....They then add small shells and rocks to the walls of the hole....... The teacher then pours plaster of paris in the holes and let harden....... When it is taken out......It is a permanent sand "castle." The kids think this is "awesome" 2-7-98 Name: Lynette E-Mail: lkowalsk.lorainccc.edu We call our sand and water table the "Sensory Table". We've included many things other than sand and water. A few items include packing peanuts, bird seed, snow, ice cubes, glitter in water, and glitter with flour. The children's favorites so far have been scooping and smearing pumpkin "guts" and washing the baby dolls with sponges, soap, and water! 2-7-98 Name: margie E-Mail: smjbl@aol.com This is a fun sand table activity to enhance a unit on dinosaurs: Clean chicken bones well, then soak for several hours in a household bleach solution (I used 3/4 cup of bleach to 1 gallon of water and soaked the bones overnight). After the bones have dried, hide them in the sand table. The children then pretend to be paleontologists and really love finding the miniature "dinosaur" bones. As a follow up, they can arrange them on a piece of paper to form imaginary dinosaur skeletons. 2-7-98 Submitted by: Daylene E-Mail: aactchrday@aol.com Add bubble wrap, old cars, and a little bit of water to your sensory table. The children drive their cars over the bubble wrap to make popping noise. The little bit of water just adds extra sensory fun! 2-7-98 Submitted by: AmySue E-Mail: txbarbrat@aol.com We made our water/sand table into a garden!!...We filled the table with topsoil and added plastic flowers (from craft stores) along with plastic flower pots and plastic plants...what great fun we had being florists and gardeners....dont forget the shovels and buckets and other gardening tools!! 2-7-98 Submitted by: Michele E-Mail: michele@bayou.com Try using deer corn in the sand table. It is available in 40 pound bags in the fall (hunting season) and only costs about $4.00 per bag. One bag is plenty. It is a great sensation to run your hands through it! I've done this for the past 3 years with 4 yr. olds and kindergarten with no problems. Just be sure to throw it out when you are done because it doesn't keep. I tried saving it in a plastic tub the first year and guess what I found the next fall? Weevils!!! yuk. 2-7-98 Submitted by: Linda E-Mail: JGeo4@aol.com Activity: Tearless Bubble Play We use tearless baby shampoo in our water table. Now, no one cries if a little bubbles get in their eyes 2-7-98 Submitted by: Stephanie E-Mail: Stephanie_Rottmayer@Convene.com Activity: Mashed Potato Fun! Our 2 and 3 year olds loved stirring water into instant mashed potato flakes. Then we added food color to see what would happen. (A little smelly, but fun) 2-7-98 Submitted by: Daylene E-Mail: aactchrday@aol.com Activity Oooey Gooey Fun Stuff Add shaving cream to your water table. For extra fun, mix in food coloring. 2-7-98 Submitted by: Daylene E-Mail: aactchrday@aol.com Activity Oooey Gooey Fun Stuff #2 Pour elmers school glue into your water table. Start adding liquid starch to the glue, a little at a time, until it starts to become blubbery. Cold, clammy fun! For even more "sensory fun", add rock salt to the mixture. 2-7-98 Submitted by: Daylene E-Mail: aactchrday@aol.com Activity Oooey Gooey Fun Stuff #3 Cook Knox gelatin according to the recipe on the box. Refrigerate until firm. Add the wiggly mixture to your water table. 2-7-98 Submitted by: Diana E-Mail: BOOBear128 Activity Sand Designs Materials Sand Posterboard Scissors Plaster of Paris Procedure
2-7-98 Submitted by: Daylene E-Mail: aactchrday@aol.com Activity Helping to keep the house area tidy and clean Before you disinfect your house area items such as the dishes, play food, pots, pans, etc...., put them in your water table with soapy water. Let the children wash the items during free choice. When they are done, have the children help you stack the housekeeping items somewhere to dry. Then, all you have to do is disinfect them after the children leave or while they are napping. You can also do the same thing with leggos, plastic cars, or anything else that is waterproof and that you normally disinfect. 2-7-98 Submitted by: ginny E-Mail: Msginnyedu@aol.com Activity Try putting turkey basters and empty plastic bottles (water, soda or those cute honey bear ones), and assorted funnels. The kids really enjoy squeezing up the water and then using the funnels to "inject" it into the bottles. We talk about empty, full, how much more, etc. Sometimes we put bubbles or food color int the water to make it more fun. 2-7-98 Submitted by: Daylene E-Mail: aactchrday@aol.com Activity For REALLY messy fun, put cornstarch goo in your water table. You can buy a 5 lb bag of cornstarch at some of the wherehouse stores such as Price Club or Sam's Club. Pour the cornstarch into your water table and add just enough water so that it is not too dry or not too wet. A good test to see if it is the right consistency is if you can form the cornstarch/water mixture into a ball and then if it will "melt" in your hands. You can color the "goo" by using Wilton's cake colors. This type of food coloring is very concentrated and will make vibrant colors. One Halloween, we colored our goo black and added plastic worms and plastic spiders. Lot's O Fun!! 2-7-98 Submitted by: Daylene E-Mail: aactchrday@aol.com Activity Add dirt, toy cars, Leggo's, people figures, and twigs from trees to your water table. Encourage the children to explore! When I have done this, the children have created very elaborate towns. 2-7-98 Submitted by: ginny E-Mail: Msginnyedu@aol.com Activity When the weather is so HOT try putting ice cubes in the water table!! Let the children experience COLD and mmmeelltt down! You can even make some of your own cubes and freeze things inside of them...like small dinosaurs, counting bears, plastic bugs...just remember your choke rule if you have little ones that are oral. 2-7-98 Activity We will be working on Beans for the upcoming month. I will be buying a
20lb bag of dried beans to fill up our sand 2-7-98 Submitted by: LeeAnn E-Mail: JLCol546@aol.com Activity We purchased two tubs of misc. buttons at a local craft shop and dumped them into the water table with sorting trays and tweezers. The children had a great time picking up the buttons with the tweezers and studying them. Some of the buttons had a match so it became a challenge to find the matches. Eventually, the activity became more complex when the children began sorting and grouping the buttons into a variety of attribute groups using the compartments of the sorting trays. Buttons in the water table turned into a GREAT (and visually beautiful) multi-skill building activity!!! 2-4-98 Name: Janet E-Mail: JanetLHill@aol.com We have a water table with two tubs, side by side. When we were studying the color green we died the water in one tub yellow and the water in the other tub blue. The children enjoyed mixing the water in each tub together and were very delighted with their discovery that yellow and blue make green! Can also be done with blue and red, yellow and red, etc. 2-4-98 Name: shirleen E-Mail: lovecyrus@aol.com To dye rice for your rice table. Mix 2 tbsp food coloring to 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol. This should be mixed with 10 cups rice and placed on cookie sheets to dry. It colors perfectly. 2-2-98 Name: Alisa E-Mail: to0muchnfo@aol.com In two big water containers with spouts, use food coloring to make the water in each of the containers a primary color. Place them close to the water table and let the children fill up different containers, dumping them inside the table. Name: Jean E-Mail: JEng468066@aol.com We use uncooked rice in our sand table. The kids love it. For variety try coloring the rice. You can use holiday colors, or colors that you may be learning. You can color the rice using rubbing alcohol and food coloring. Name: Sally E-Mail: Spinny002@aol.com For a unit on Native Americans, use sand. Place vinyl canoes, wooden people, and horses from the dollar shops. You can also place plastic trees, etc. from fish tank supplies in there. Have an area with lincoln logs for longhouses, teepees, and a small pond. The kids love it! Name: Courtney E-Mail: cfarina@udel.edu Adding leaves and small plastic forest animals and rocks can enhance a hibernation unit. For further activities and to incorporate literacy - read the story of The Mitten by Jan Brett and add mittens to this area. Name: Alicia E-Mail: AliciaDug@aol.com I set up an environment in the water table with PVC (vinyl) animals. I use Arctic animals: Polar bears, penguins, seals, walruses, whales, etc. in a water table with water, large rocks and large chunks of ice. I use alligators, frogs, turtles and lizards in dark murky water with large rocks and logs. I have ocean animals: whales, dolphins, sharks, fish, etc. with blue water. The kids love to role play with the animals and it gives me an opportunity to present information about the animals and their environments while their attention is captivated. Name: heidi E-Mail: ilovdoll@gte.net My class had a community helpers theme a few weeks ago. My children became plumbers by connecting 1" pvc pipes together with connectors then running water through. I had 2 ten foot lengths cut into 5" lengths. with the connectors the whole project cost $10. the kids had a blast. Name: Dena E-Mail: VI0LASWAMP@aol.com For the water table, you can take different sized bottles and cut them in half. Then add tape to the edges so they are not rough, I used different colors of electrical tape. With a drill you can create holes on the bottom half of the bottle. When I use the bottles in the water table I usually add marbles too. My preschoolers love this water table activity! Name: Diane E-Mail: DML616@aol.com I bought fun smelling soap from Bath and Body Works like "Silly Fruits" and "Chuckleberry" and the kids love using them in the water table.....a little goes a long way...and they don't even realize that they are washing their hands....extra benefit: it is antibacterial soap!!!! Name: Julie E-Mail: Imjewlz@AOL.com My group loves it when I put water softener salt in the sensory table. They love to feel the texture and hear the noise it makes. The salt can be purchased grocery stores and club stores for around $3.00 a bag (the bags are 40-50 pounds). I also incorporate science into this activity by adding water so that the kids can see how water affects the salt,and watch it become smaller as they play in it. Name: Heather E-Mail: jbbass@bellsouth.net If your children get tired of sand and/or it seems too cold for water, try rice or cornmeal. This lets the children experience different textures and they get to see what food is like before it is cooked! Name: Sharon E-Mail: Yenta71@aol.com Put shredded paper, not just torn paper, shredded paper (a la Oliver North) in the sensory table, you have snow!!!! It does get messy. There is static electricity, but the kids love it. Name: Julie E-Mail: Imjewlz@aol.com A bag of water softener salt goes a long way in my sensory table. A 40 or 50 pound bag can be purchased at a grocery store or a wherehouse/club store for near three dollars. My group enjoys scooping, shoveling and hiding things. Name: Michele E-Mail: michele@bayou.com Try using deer corn in the sand table. It is available in 40 pound bags in the fall (hunting season) and only costs about $4.00 per bag. One bag is plenty. It is a great sensation to run your hands through it! I've done this for the past 3 years with 4 yr. olds and kindergarten with no problems. Just be sure to throw it out when you are done because it doesn't keep. I tried saving it in a plastic tub the first year and guess what I found the next fall? Weevils!!! yuk. Name: Eileen E-Mail: Pisces2775 Our 2 and 3 year olds loved having shavings of cedar in the water table with toy cars and animal figures! Name: Jennifer E-Mail: HUNTFDC4U We will be working on Beans for the upcoming month. I will be buying a 20lb bag of dried beans to fill up our sand table. The kids will have spoons, bowls, measuring cups, etc. to help them explore the beans and the volume of them. Name: Kathlene E-Mail: RichD@VTSoft.com I have used both rice and oatmeal in my sand table. The kids really have fun with them and they can sweep up the "drops" easily during clean - up. (You can also use rice that has been dyed different colors! It looks really cool!) Name: AmySue E-Mail: txbarbrat@aol.com Just an addition that I add when we have a gardening center or florist shop..I fill our water/sand table with soil..and shovels...pots...plastic flowers....etc. Name: janel E-Mail: Janellhud@aol.com While studying pond life, we turned our water table into a "pond". We put rocks and sand in the bottom and then filled with water. We then added plastic fish, frogs, and lizards. Out of the plastic foam bought at a craft store, we cut lily pads to float on top. Add a few fake plants and the children have a ball playing in the pond. Name: AmySue E-Mail: txbarbrat@aol.com We made our water/sand table into a garden!!...We filled the table with topsoil and added plastic flowers (from craft stores) along with plastic flower pots and plastic plants...what great fun we had being florists and gardeners....dont forget the shovels and buckets and other gardening tools!! Name: Cindy E-Mail: cin69@webtv.net Try adding the wiggly squiggly fish bait "worms" to your water table and listen to the childrens delight as the try to catch them.
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