Sand/Water Table

[Beach Baby]

Currently, I have one 21 month old girl, my daughter (18 months) and another little girl that is supposed to start this week (2.5yrs). I'd like to get/make a sand/water table, but not sure what to put in it for toddlers. We will definitely have tons of fun with water when it's warmer outside, but for now it would have to be something that is appropriate for inside. Do you have your sand/water table accessible to the kids at all times or do you pull it out at certain times? Did you buy one or make your own? I'm thinking it may be best to have it in the kitchen and pull it out for a certain amount of time each day. My daughter seems to love pouring water, so I thought she (and the other girls) would enjoy playing in a sand/water table. Just not sure how to make it work inside, with kids so young!

[greenhouse]

This is an outdoor activity for sure-but I have a nice fenced in deck which is perfect for water play. My own son plays in the kitchen sink a lot. I don't do sand because of the mess.

[Beach Baby]

I'm avoiding sand because of the mess too. lol We have one of those plastic turtle sandboxes and it hasn't been used in years because the lid always comes off and then of course it rains and at that point it's more like a dirty, sandy swimming pool than a sandbox. I saw an idea online to secure a plastic storage container on top of an old coffee table. That looked like a simple, cheap solution, plus it has a lid that will stay on! I'm thinking of making one of those for outside, just have to make sure it's at the right height for my little ones. I may just start with the storage container and secure it to a coffee table once they are tall enough for it. I have seen some ideas to use rice or beans instead of sand or water. Also shaving cream, snow, or even buttons. Those are all great ideas, but wouldn't work for the age group I have. Looks like we may have to wait for summer and just use water! I think I can handle sand outside, or even some dirt for them to play in. I'm sure they would love driving little cars/trucks through it.

[kidkair]

I have sensory boxes that I just have lined up on a shelf and place them on the floor for the kids. I give each kid a different one so there is one kid to each box and that helps the mess slightly. As soon as they stop mouthing everything I give them the beads, rice, sand, and small objects boxes and just watch them closely. For those who are too little for the small stuff (or make too big of a mess) I give them paper to crumple and rip, large sea shells,sponges, paintbrushes, and ribbons/yarn.

[Piemama]

I use sterilite "under the bed" boxes so I can move them around. They're also inexpensive so I have a few of them for different sensory items.

[Beach Baby]

I just read that some people use oatmeal too! I think that would work great for my toddlers! Can you all give me more ideas of sensory items to put in? Do you have them sit at a table to look through these or can they access them whenever they want?

[melskids]

My husband made a table for me using a cement mixing tub from home depot.

We use it inside everyday. It is on a tile floor, with a plastic mat underneath as well.

I leave it out all morning during our choice time.

The kiddos learn early on how to use the sand table appropriately. I stay fairly close to them until they "get" it, and I'm pretty consistent with the "rules".

[SilverSabre25]

Originally Posted by MamaNik

I just read that some people use oatmeal too! I think that would work great for my toddlers! Can you all give me more ideas of sensory items to put in? Do you have them sit at a table to look through these or can they access them whenever they want?

do you mean box fillers or other "stuff" that goes in the box?

funnels (if your filler is small enough), spoons, measuring cups, other materials that go along with your box...Target's 1$ spot and Jo-Ann's/Michaels $1 section are really excellent for this.

[meganlavonnesmommy]

We use our sensory bin almost every day. Mine is filled with dried black and white beans. I've seen fillers using rice, cut up straws, chopped foam, packing peanuts, shaving cream, snow, small plastic balls, crepe paper.

I rotate my items based on the season. Christmas, Valentines, winter, fall, easter, etc. I get most of the stuff from walmart or the dollar store.

Right now we have small plastic hearts, heart erasers, small multi colored spiky balls. I give each child a small measuring cup and a drinking cup. They dump, fill and scoop for hours. The beans do get on the floor, but they are easy to clean up, and the kids are so entertained, its worth it.

[Ariana]

I use a water table all year round in my house. Just put lots of towels underneath and way to go!! I used to use a big storage bin that was not too deep and it doubled as my sensory bin as well. I put it right on the floor because the kids can easily access it rather than on a table. I still put my sensory bin on my rug because it makes cleanup easier for me. Over christmas I bought a real water table. The cool thing about it is it comes with a cover so the water stays pretty clean and reuseable (I add a capful of bleach) and you can also put table toys on top when it's not in use. My water table is a "special activity" that comes out when we can't go outside due to weather or when I'm finding the kids are getting bored.

For water toys I use cups, boats, water animals (penguins, dolphins, alligators) and also we sometimes wash our teddy bears in there with soapy water!

[MamaBear]

I just got rid of our sand. IT was always a mess. I would just stick with water if I was you. You will be constantly cleaning up the sand which gets everywhere. I turned our plastic Step2 sandbox into a water box now