A sensory table should be a part of any good preschool program, although it may be called by another name. Also known as the sand table, the sand and water table, or the discovery table, the purpose is the same. It engages the child, encourages him to explore through his five senses, and discover the world around him.
Tips for a Good Sensory Table
Whether you teach a group of preschoolers, or a classroom of one in your home, this is an easy and inexpensive activity for you to incorporate into your program. First, you need to start with a "table." There are many good sand and water play tables on the market, ranging in price from under $50 to over $1,000. The table you select should be durable, easy to clean, scratch-resistant, and safe – no exposed screws or bolts, tip resistant, and a good height for the age of the child. As an alternative to an actual table, you can manage a sensory play area just fine using a small child's plastic splash pool, at under $5.00. Set it on an old shower curtain or sheet to facilitate clean-up,and you're good to go.
Sensory Play Engages the Child's Five Senses
Whatever you put in the sensory table should be something that is interesting to taste, or touch, or smell, or listen to, or look at. Often it is possible that the items will appeal to more than one sense. Filling the table with fresh chocolate pudding smells good, tastes good, looks good, and is very fun to touch. You could even make a case that listening to children lick it off their fingers sounds good, too.
Change the table's contents weekly at least, more often if necessary. In the fall, you can put brilliant autumn leaves in the sensory table. Set out magnifying glasses so the children can examine them more closely. After a few days, add some nuts that have fallen from the local trees – acorns, butternut, pecans. (Check your preschool guidelines. Children with peanut allergies may be allergic to all tree nuts.) Several days later, add small, thin sticks to the autumn leaves and nuts. Add small plastic animals – squirrels, deer, and raccoons. Then, at the end of the week, take everything out and go on to a new activity. You may want to save some autumn leaves for future art projects.
Sensory Play Builds Language Skills
An observant teacher will be near the sensory table as often as possible. She will help the children learn new words to express what they see, hear, smell, touch, and taste. Children will learn words like bright,bold, dark, clear, cloudy, transparent, opaque, and solid, as well as color words, when they play with water, ice, snow, finger pain, and pudding. They will learn words like sharp, spicy, bland, fruity, salty, sweet, and tangy when they learn how things taste. As they pour rice from a pitcher, or measure macaroni into a bowl, they can learn words. Every activity in the sensory table is an opportunity to build language skills.
Sensory Play Develops Fine Motor Control
The young child lacks fine motor control. That's why very little children have trouble writing their name, pulling up a zipper, or tying their shoe laces. A good preschool curriculum will help them develop fine motor control through sensory play activities. Pinching play dough, lacing elbow macaroni, pouring rice, picking buried treasures out of the sand will help the young child develop these small muscles. If you have a child who's penmanship is poor, you may want to encourage him to spend more time in sensory play. If you have a child who laces macaroni easily and can button buttons or zip zippers, then he is ready to learn to write.
Sensory play can have a calming effect
Young children in a preschool setting, or at home with a parent, will have ups and downs in their day. When a child is starting to exhibit signs of agitation, steering him towards the sensory table sometimes helps to calm him, especially if his agitations stems from boredom or restlessness. Parents have often used bath time to calm a child – with it's inherent water play sensory experience. Play dough allows an angry child to pound on something other than a play mate. What can be more soothing than sand slipping through your fingers?
Safety First
The sensory table must always be carefully supervised. The young child can drown in an inch of water. Sand can get thrown into someone's eyes. Some items in the sensory table are fine to taste, some are not. You will need to establish clear rules and boundaries, then enforce them. Sensory activities can be very, very messy! But the benefits to the young child – to his social, emotional, physical, and spiritual development – far outweigh the extra work involved in clean-up.
Related Reading:
Sensory Table Activities for Preschool
Twelve Fun Activities for Sensory Play
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