SAND AND WATER TABLES

This is a blog for early childhood teachers looking for ways to expand and enrich play and learning in and around their sand and water tables with easy-to-make, low-cost apparatus. It may also be of interest for anyone who appreciates children's messy play.

Friday, September 18, 2020

New presentation

›

I have not written a blogpost in awhile because I have been working on a new keynote presentation for the 9th anuual conference of the Reggi...

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Cardboard dividers: a study in proprioception

›

Proprioception is an inherent sense that tells us our bodies' position and motion in space. For instance, when you drive a car, you use...

Monday, June 1, 2020

The art of filling

›

Back in March, I wrote a couple of blog posts on the art of pouring: post 1 and post 2. Well if there is an art to pouring, there must be...

Sunday, May 17, 2020

Noteworthy play spaces

›

A little over four years ago, I went a little crazy with setting up Big boxes around the sensory table . I started with four big boxes, one...

Thursday, May 7, 2020

The Wizard of Oz

›

Once again, I am venturing beyond the sand and water table for the inspiration for a new blog post. In the process of tagging my pictures, ...

Sunday, April 26, 2020

Children's investigative flair with spools

›

Though I usually write about play in the sensory table, sometimes I do venture beyond the sensory table into play in other areas of the clas...

Sunday, March 15, 2020

The art of pouring II

›

Last week I wrote about the art of pouring. I was surprised at the amount of traction that post got and it got me thinking even more abou...

‹

›

Home

View web version

About Me

Tom Bedard: Early childhood education has been my life for over 40 years. I have taught all age groups from infants to 5-year-olds. I was a director for five years in the 1980s, but I returned to the classroom 22 years ago. My passion is watching the ways children explore and discover their world. In the classroom, everything starts with the reciprocal relationships between adults and children and between the children themselves. With that in mind, I plan and set up activities. But that is just the beginning. What actually happens is a flow that includes my efforts to invite, respond and support children's interface with those activities and with others in the room. Oh yeh, and along the way, the children change the activities to suit their own inventiveness and creativity. Now the processes become reciprocal with the children doing the inviting, responding and supporting. Young children are the best learners and teachers. I am truly fortunate to be a part of their journey.

View my complete profile