Here's another idea

Last week I encouraged those who wanted to build constructions for the sensory table to start simple.  Here is another idea: remove the sensory table all together and just replace it with multiple containers, buckets and tubs.  Of course, you also want to provide plenty of those hodgepodge and doohickies.

With this idea, I purposely highlighted the very first phrase of axiom #1 listed in the right hand column of this blog: Children need to transport.  By taking the sensory table out of the room entirely, I created an invitation for the children to devise multiple transporting operations of their own choosing.

Back in March of 2016, I wrote a post about what did happen when the children generated their own transporting endeavors.  I had the audacity to call it: Transporting paradise.

The setup worked so well, I tried a second version of the transporting paradise.  For this version, I removed some of the tubs and buckets and added plastic chutes and cardboard tubes.

The children treated me to a host of new transporting operations, like building a bridge to transport the pellets horizontally.

One child decided to use a plastic chute as a tool to fill the "bridge" plastic chute.  Both instances were brilliant examples of basic engineering assemblages.

With no sensory table to contain the material that usually goes in it, there was more than the usual amount of spillage onto the floor.

However, all that spillage created opportunities for the children to practice their broom and dust pan skills.  More importantly, it turned out to be good practice for taking care of the room through cleaning up our messes.

The second setup really did generate more mess.  I wrote about this setup's unique transporting operations and its subsequent mess in a blog post I called: Don't do this.

For those ECE people who have to share a room, this may actually give you some ideas about buckets and containers that nest inside each other and can be easily stored.  

The setup was rather complex.  You may want to try it, but like I said last week, start simple!