It can also be a small pail. This actually works out better for toddlers because the sides are not so deep. That is important because with this arrangement they have less trouble scooping out what they put in. And believe me, they will not only want to transport into the container, but they will also want to do the opposite operation, namely, scoop out of the container.
Here is a planter on the floor at the sensory table in the toddler room. It has low sides and the children can easily get things in and out.
Here is another adaptation in the toddler room. I have taped a plastic wash basin on top of a five gallon container so it is at the same level as the small toddler sensory table.
Even if a 5 gallon pail is there, children are going to get creative and find other size containers to transport sand, etc., from the table. Below a child has found a smaller plastic container into which to spoon the sand. It is placed next to the big pail, but for the child it is more of an internal and motoric challenge to put it in the smaller container. Spilling? Of course.
Bigger containers offer an opportunity to explore different spaces around the table. The sand at the bottom of the waste basket is at a different level---floor level---than the sand in the table. Getting it out of the basket or into to it is a different spacial experience than simply moving it around in the table.
Bigger containers also offer an opportunity for a whole body spacial experience.
These whole body spacial experiences also include large muscle operations such as balance.
Of course, it could just be a head experience, too!
One final point to be made about pails and tubs: They not only add an additional physical level of play, but they also add to the overall area of play.
That is important to me because I have such a small area to begin with. If I had a bigger area, I could easily add more pails and tubs. And, guaranteed, the children will use every one of them.
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