The Nature/Sensory Table also referred to as the Sand or Water Table can be the most educational, beneficial, fun center in the preschool classroom. It is usually the center that will stimulate the senses of touch, smell and sight the most.
It is the one center that can intrigue the toddler all the way up to the elementary school student. The task as teachers is to not only expose the kids to the normal activities, but to go beyond those typical items and take a child exploring farther.
The great thing about this center is that you do not have to have a fancy table (it is nice if your school can afford one, but not necessary). You can create your own table out of tubs from the dollar store as well as cheap plastic baby pools depending on the space of your room.
The traditional components of a sand/water table would of course include sand and/or water to play with. The possibilities for just those two items are endless.
Try adding to the traditional water: ice cubes, sea animals, measuring cups and spoons, waterwheel, toy boats, eyedroppers, funnels, mild dish detergent, wire whisks or a water pump. A bonus fun activity for a construction unit is to tape some legos to the bottom of the tub. Then add water and let the kids build on the legos to make an underwater building creations.
Try adding to the traditional sand: measuring cups, measuring spoons, funnels, magnetic or foam letters and numbers, plastic sand molds, construction vehicles, metal washers and magnets or treasure box items. Some bonus fun activities would be to buy pretend dinosaur bones and let the kids excavate them. Another activity is to add water to the sand to make mud. Then do a farm activity with pigs in the mud. You can also have some pretend ice cream fun by wetting the sand and putting ice cream scoops in the table. Have some bowls as well for the kids to put the ice cream into once scooped.
Rice is also a fun item to have in the table. You can turn the rice different colors for the kids to play in. Make sure to have the measuring cups ready as well. One community helpers unit, I died rice red, orange and yellow then hid fireman stickers so the students could dig. To make colored rice, mix together one-third cup of rubbing alcohol and several drops of food coloring in the color you want. Make the coloring mixture dark to ensure a bright finished color for the rice. Pour the rice and the coloring mixture into a gallon-sized zippered plastic bag. Turn and knead the bag until the rice is well-coated; then pour the rice out onto the sheets of newspaper to dry overnight.
Art time can also be extremely fun using the table. You can place shaving cream, play doh as well as let the kids paint in the tub. One fun activity for the younger ones is to tape a piece of paper to the bottom of the tub. Then dip a ball in paint and place in the tub. Let the children lift up on the sides of the tub to roll it back and forth on the paper.
These aren't even a dent of ideas for the table. Look in the future for holiday table ideas, magic comes to life and more! Feel free to leave any ideas you have used or done in the past for your class units as well!
