My first box tower

I have been looking over old pictures that I took at the sensory table.  I found a set that documents the first box tower I ever installed in the sand table.  The photos are at least 28 years old.  For this first box tower, I used an empty box that had held a thousand drinking cups.  The box is a good size to begin with, but appears huge in the 2' x 2' yellow sand table.   To make the box tower stable, I taped the bottom of the box to the bottom of the table.  I also taped the box to the side of the table near the bottom using strips of duct tape pulling the box horizontally to the table. 

I embedded a large diameter PVC pipe through the apparatus.  I also embedded plastic containers---I think they were Cool Whip containers---into the sides.  However, those containers did not traverse the width of the box.  Instead, they acted as shelves into which the children could transport the sand or hold other, smaller containers.  Below is a picture from the other side of the box tower.  In that side, I embedded a larger container, a plastic ice cream bucket. 

When I looked at these pictures, I wondered why I set up the box tower with the box upside down.  All I can think of is that it was not one of the features of the box I was paying attention to.  I guess I passed up a literacy opportunity on that one.
 
The picture below shows a toddler putting sand in the ice cream bucket that is embedded in the box.  Since there is sand in all the containers, it looks like the children have used all the embedded containers for their sand operations.

Here is the same child putting sand in the PVC pipe with his green spoon.  He has transported his sand from the table, to the ice cream bucket and then to the PVC pipe.  

The picture below is of very poor quality, but informative.  It shows the child bending down so he can look through the PVC pipe.  In other words, he uses the hole through the box created by the PVC pipe to change his perspective of this micro-world. 

An integral part of this setup is the five-gallon bucket next to the table.  The bucket offers the children another invitation to transport the sand at this apparatus.   Since children always want to take the sand out of the table, the bucket gives them a constructive outlet for them to do that.  In other words, the placement of the bucket next to the table means less sand on the floor---and that's a good thing.

Just a side note:  I will be one of the presenters for the Fairy Dust 2017 Virtual Summer Conference.  The conference begins on July 10th and runs for five days.  With the virtual conference, however, you will be able to access the conference any time you want and as many times as you want.  The line up for the conference includes two Teacher Tom's: Teacher Tom from Seattle and myself, tomsensori Teacher Tom.  That means you get two Teacher Tom's for the price of one. 

If you are at all interested, you can save $100 on registration by signing up for early bird registration by tomorrow July 10th.  Again, you can check it out here:  Fairy Dust 2017 Virtual Summer Conference.

One final side note:  I just learned that I will be giving a version of this presentation in November in Atlanta as one of the featured presentations at the NAEYC annual conference.