ANOTHER USE FOR TRAYS

Besides being apparatus themselves, trays can serve another important function in the sensory table.  For me, they also form the base on which to place or build other apparatus.  The trays are used especially when I want a vertical incline to the apparatus.  Here two cardboard chutes are attached to the wooden tray ( see previous post from 8/23/10)).  

In the apparatus below,  I have used the planter tray (previous post from 9/12/10) to attach a crate.  Through the crate, I have attached a plastic chute.

The great thing about the plastic planter tray is that if it is turned upside down, it sits on the lip of the sensory table and apparatus can be attached to it in that configuration.  Look!

I have even combined to the two types of trays to form the base of an apparatus.  I did that to get a greater incline on a cardboard chute apparatus.

As you might have guessed by now,  I like trays.

MULTIPLE TRAYS

So if one tray is good, then two must be better.

There are now two trays, but how many spaces?  Two trays multiplies the spaces in which the children work. Besides the over, under, and in of each of the trays, there is now an inbetween.  Now, too, there is another container from which---or into which---to transport.

So if two trays are better, then three trays must be even better, still.

Besides the planter tray in the middle, I found some old dark room trays.  I was able to arrange one of the darkroom trays so the bottom on one side rested on the lip of the planter and the bottom on the other side rested on the lip of the sensory table.  With this arrangement, there are more levels and more spaces to explore.  There are now three levels inside the table and spaces on either side of the trays, over the trays and under the trays.  

If three trays are better still, then five trays...well, you get the idea.  Once you start, there are any number of combinations and orientations.

There are now four levels inside the table and plenty of novel spaces.  And the children will use all the levels and spaces in their play and exploration.

These children said they were filling the top trays with all the seeds.  Could they do it?  The answer is not as important as the process.  First they gave themselves a task and pursued it with the utmost importance.  Why this task?  I think it has something to do with their innate drive to transport.  They worked very hard even though gathering all the seeds from all the spaces involved more complex operations, like scooping the corn from the bottom trays.  This involved first scooping with spoons under the top trays, pulling the scoops back and then lifting and pouring into the top tray.  The spoons lost their usefulness because the bottom of the bottom trays are not flat and the children were getting fewer and fewer seeds.  Next, they started to use their hands to grasp the seeds.  When I look at the picture, I think of the feeling of space, particularly depth, they are experiencing as they reach all the way under the tray to get the seeds.  That is not only the vertical depth of reaching into the tray, but it is also a horizontal depth of reaching way under the tray.

As they scoop and scrape, they are constantly gauging their progress.  How much is left in the bottom of the trays and the bottom of the table?  How much more do is needed to fill the top?  In this episode of play, they worked very hard.  The top tray was full, so they went on to the next level to fill those trays.

They could not get every seed out of the bottom trays and out of the bottom of the table, but their work was impressive.  By filling the top trays, they were able to see the effect of full trays and the weight on the base trays.  

TRAY #2

One of my favorite activities in the hardware store is to look through all the ailses to see the pipes, gutters and tubes, etc.  I am always looking for materials to use in the sensory table.  A few years ago in the fall, I was walking through the garden section.  There was a plastic planter on clearance that caught my eye.  I bought it with hopes of using it in the sensory table.  To my surprise it fit perfectly.

I had a ready-made tray that fit right into the table.  It provided many of the same features as the wooden tray(previous post).  This tray, though, actually goes into the table and sits 4 or 5 inches off the bottom of the table.  It is also narrower. 

Because it fits into the table, it is easier to attach.

Notice how the lip of the tray rests on the lip of the table.   I take two pieces of duct tape and tape it from inside the lip of the tray over and under the lip of the table (picture above left).   I then take another piece of duct tape and lay it across the two pieces (picture above right).

If you can find the right size planter to fit inside your table, this apparatus is as simple as the pail from an earlier post.

Planters always have holes because it is important for plants to drain.  I could use those, but they tend to be too big so the tray won't hold any water.  For that reason, I keep the holes plugged that are part of the planter and I drill two to four smaller holes on the edge of the bottom.  That lets the water out more  slowly and provides another avenue of exploration.  The child below is filling his plastic syrup jug from the hole at the bottom of the planter.  Notice the bottom of the little jug is in the water.  That means that at first, the jug is buoyant and the child has to push down.  As the jug fills, the child has to reverse the action because the water filling the jug gets heavier, so he has to hold it up.

There is a different space and volume  experience when the water is filling containers on different levels.  In the picture below, the table itself is a container; the tray itself also holds water;  and the pots that sit inside the trays provide additional levels for which the children experience space and volume.  

SPACE, VOLUME, BUOYANCY, oh my!

The Swamp

The is an activity that uses the wooden tray mentioned in the previous post. With the tray crossing the middle of the table, I have put fall leaves and water in the table. I call it a swamp because the mixture of dead leaves and water make a swampy brew. I add sticks, pine cones and such, too.  For the children to handle the brew, I put tongs, little pails, spoons and various containers including such things as an old plastic water bottle and an old pan.

Though I plan the general parameters of the activity, I never really know in which direction the children will take the activity.  I am continually surprised and amazed.  Let me show you an example of what children can do with this simple, open-ended set-up.  Look and listen to the following clip:

The boys found the holes in the side of the tray. Gavin (#1) and Micah are pouring water into the tray. They have placed a pot and a plastic water bottle to catch the water underneath the holes that are leaking. They talk about how they are filling the containers which, by the way, is one step removed from simply filling the tray with water. They have figured out that by filling the tray, they will fill the containers for what Gavin (#1) calls a "big, big overflow." Micah was checking the recovery process and says with confidence "we're catching it all."  Finn has taken particular interest in the leaky hole and the pot catching the leak. Off camera he tells me: "This is how apple juice is made of."  At first I thought he was saying that this is "what" juice is made of.  After listening and watching several times, I think he really meant "how" juice is made.  And in fact, the color of the water is quite similar to apple juice. And the water trickling from the hole looks a lot like the process of juice squeezed from a press. So he is not simply observing, but making associations from previous experiences and attempting to cognitively map this new one with those previous experiences.  There is a fourth child, Gavin (#2). He is the consumate observer.  I do not know what he is thinking, but I still feel he is an important part of the activity. Why?  I think of it as a scene in a play and it would not be complete without his part.

TRAY

One of the first things I built for the sensory table was a tray.  I cut and nailed scraps of 1X8 pieces of wood I had around the house.  I made it slightly wider than the width of the table so it would lay across the table.

I wanted to provide a space on which to put things that were in the table.  I have seen so many children hold a container against their body when they try to fill the container.  What happens?  It spills and they get wet.  With a tray, a space is provided on which to place things. That way they do not have to hold the container against their body to fill it.

By having the tray, it also frees up the hands to experiment and perform other operations like using  a funnel while pouring.

With the tray, the child can pour with less spilling and less getting wet.  Even with a tray, though, there will always be spilling and getting wet.  Be prepared.

In terms of exploration and learning, the tray provides another level on which to work.  If you are keeping count, there are now three levels at the table.  1) There is the bottom of the table itself.  2) The pail (see previous posts) which is on the floor.   3) The tray which is above the table.  The three levels have increased the spaces to explore because now there is an over, under and around.  When the child moves or is transporting over, under and around the tray, a different set of large and small muscle motor operations are required.  For example, you cannot just scoop something up from under the tray and lift it straight up.  The child has to scoop and then lift slightly and reverse the original scooping motion.  All this lays the ground work for cognitive mapping of spaces and how to operate in and around them.

The explorations take many forms.  Here are just a couple:

The child below is using the tray to hold her creations.  The child is making forms from moon sand.  The trays provides a nice platform for her work.  In fact, the forms are highlighted so much better than if they were just made on top of the sand in the table itself.

This group is filling the tray to the top with moon sand.  They are compacting the sand so it will fit the sides of the tray.  It was as if they are forming a solid block inside the tray.  They are using hammers and other clay cutting tools.

One of the boys works very hard to tamp down the sand.  Another  child has figured out that he could slice off a piece with a clay cutting tool.  I would say that is nice large motor and fine motor work on their parts.

Here the children have completely filled the tray with animal bedding.  The bedding is light and airy so it is easy to fill the tray to overflowing.  In addition, it smells good.  

I always attach the tray to the table with duct tape.  I criss-cross the tape on both sides.  For each side, one piece of tape goes from over the lip of the tray under the lip of the table, the other one is taped under the tray to the inside of the table.  To make it a stronger hold, I then take a long piece of tape and wrap it around both sets of tape under the tray.  The wrapping around pulls the two sets of tape tight so there is virtually no movement.

Two quick notes about this apparatus.  If you are using it for water, caulk the seams with a bathroom caulk otherwise it will leak at the joints.  Also, if you are using it with water, drill holes in the side so water will leak out into the table otherwise the children will fill it to overflowing.  That is bad if your tray hangs over the side like the one pictured.  I have had to adjust the size and number of holes depending on the creativity and enthusiasm of the group.  If there are too many holes, I easily correct it with duct tape.

IMPORTANCE OF PLAY

One of the books I read this summer was a book by play scholar Stuart Brown. His book is called: PLAY; How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul.  Yesterday, I went to hear him talk at the Children's Theatre in Minneapolis as a keynote speaker for the Neighborhood Bridges National Conference.  As I listened to him speak, I was struck by a couple of things he said that relate specifically to this blog.  I am going to quote from his book.

p.84   "Movement is primal...  If you don't understand and appreciate human movement, you really won't understand yourself or play.  Learning about self-movement creates a structure for an individual's knowledge of the world---it is a way of knowing.  Through movement play, we think in motion.  Movement structures our knowledge of the world, space, time and our relationship with others."

p.185  "The hand and the brain need each other---the hand provides the means for interacting with the world and the brain provides the method...the hand and the brain are important not only for each other's function, but that the use of the hands manipulate three-dimensional objects is an essential part of brain development...  Normal play, the play that I have shown is constantly fertilizing neural growth and complexity, is packed with examples of hand use."

Clearly movement and manipulation with the hands happen in all areas of an early childhood classroom.   Besides movement and using the hands, Dr. Brown also mentioned in his talk the need for play experiences that include all the senses.  For me, this sums up play in and around the sensory table: movement, hand exploration/manipulation, sight, sound, smell---and all in 3-D.

I highly recommend his book for any one interested in why play is so important for development of the child and its importance even for adults.

Pails and tubs

Pails and tubs come in all sizes and shapes.  Here is a simple five gallon pail set next to the table.  Note that here it is not attached.

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.