At almost every childcare center I have worked at, there has been what is generally called a water table. It is quite simply a large plastic tub raised off of the floor. With a little bit of creativity, you can keep the water table a constant hub of activity all the time by changing what you put inside. A few things I have seen are pasta and bean mixtures, multicoloured, uncooked rice, sand, sawdust, straws and scissors, paper scraps and scissors, marbles and packing styrofoam. The only limit is your budget along with your tolerance for mess.
This table does wonders for creativity and also can distract and calm children down in an amazing way. I wanted to provide the some wonder and fun for Leah in our home without having this rather large structure in our small apartment. When we were at my parent’s house, I started to think how I could make this a reality as Leah discovered the joys of splashing in the little bit of water in the dishwasher door when I was attempting to load the dinner dishes. So after breakfast this morning, I poured some water onto her tray on her highchair and let her go at it. She loved the exploration of what touching the water feels like and she was learning the effect of hitting the water as it sprayed onto her face. In addition to the joy I got from watching her play, I was able to get some good work done in the kitchen.
When Leah is a little older and has learned not to ingest everything into her mouth, it will be fun to explore with more than just water in a makeshift Rubbermaid bin but until then, we will let the water fly.
