Sand and Water Table....Minus the Sand and Water

When we first got our water table, I happily set it up in the kitchen, filled it with water and toys, and sent Nicholas to play. Boy, was that a mistake! The kitchen was swimming in water and my husband got in a big "I told you so".


Luckily there are plenty of other materials that will keep kids occupied at the sand and water table inside. While they still produce a mess, it is a mess that is easily swept up. (I just finished sweeping the kitchen, and one would never know what was going on in there this morning!)

1. Clean the water table. Our water table spent the past week outside. It has rained several times in that period, and it looked pretty dirty. Cleaning things is the perfect activity for little ones. Armed with a little non-toxic spray that I helped with (you could use dish soap and water as well) and a sponge, Nicholas had a blast spraying and scrubbing the table, then drying it out with a dishtowel.



2. Packing peanuts. Nicholas loves playing with packing peanuts in the water table. He spent the morning pouring, measuring, and scooping the peanuts, as well as driving his cars and boats through the peanuts. They are super easy to sweep up at the end.



3. Rice. As with the packing peanuts, your little peanut will love using all kinds of kitchen tools to play with the rice. This material is more fun to pour and measure, but the rice spreads a little farther than the packing peanuts do.



4. Ice. Ice is fascinating to toddlers. The day before, fill up some bowls of different sizes with water and freeze. Put the ice shapes into the table along with some toys - dolls, cars, anything. Kids will have fun playing with the ice and watching it melt. You can also give them a little cup of warm water to see how it speeds the process along.



5. Shaving cream. Squirt a good amount of shaving cream into the table, and let your toddler have at it. A smock or old t-shirt is good for this activity! For added fun and experimentation, squirt different colors of food coloring here and there and let your little one see what happens when the colors are squished together. You can also add kitchen tools to the table - measuring cups, mixing spoons, and rubber spatulas would be especially fun.

A few tips to make things go smoothly:

• Introduce the water table with an activity that is easy to clean up, like packing peanuts or ice. That way you can establish the guidelines before moving on to something like shaving cream or rice.
• When it seems like they've had enough, steer them towards a different activity or room. At first they will likely be absorbed in the activity. But the point will come when they are ready to move on, and they will likely show you this by throwing the contents of the table.