AKSEL'S TRAY

Aksel's Tray is a large flat tray made from wood that sits on top of a table.  The tray is closed on three sides but open on one end.  The tray is slightly propped opposite the open end so when there is some spillage, the water empties into the blue water table.

Here is the setup before the tray is added.  The table connects the two sensory tables.  Notice the white wooden tray that spans the blue table.  That was the first tray I used with the sensory table over twenty years ago.  You might say that Aksel's Tray is a version of that tray.

The purpose of this new tray is to provide a larger, flat surface for the children to work on.  (The old tray can serve the same purpose, but is more constricting.)  With a wider surface, a child can comfortably work with several pots and pans at the same time.

So why is it called Aksel's tray?  First you need to know that the table on which the tray sits is usually in the sensory area and is usually used to hold implements and utensils.  With the last apparatus, the table was clear of things, so Aksel commandeered it for his own purposes.

For Aksel, that meant mixing.  As Aksel mixed, he appropriated more pots and and bowls.

The more pots and bowls he used, the more water he used.  The more water he used, the more he spilled.  The more he spilled, the wetter the table got.  The wetter the table got, the more water went on the floor.  Aksel was so focused on his mixing, that I did not want to interrupt his enterprise.  As a consequence, the water actually began to puddle on the floor like never before.  I always have towels when there is water play at the table, but I could not keep up with this guy's industriousness.  It was then the light came on: Aksel was telling me that he---and the others---needed a wide surface to work on almost like a counter in a kitchen.   I thought if I could make a tray with a slight incline with three sides closed and one side open it would empty into the sensory table and the children could mix to their heart's content.  Thus was born Aksel's Tray.

Watch how the tray works in the video below.  This video shows three children mixing on the tray. The first child says she she is making soup.  The second says she is making chocolate.  In one container are M&M's and in the other two are chocolate chips.  The first child changes her mind and says she is making a lot of chocolate.  The third child takes a few seconds before declaring she is making noodles.   

WHAT ARE YOU MAKING? from Thomas Bedard on Vimeo.

Did you notice how wet the tray was?  And did you watch to the end when the third child poured water into her full container at the end of the video?

Did the tray work?  You are the judge.  

Axiom #7 on the right-hand column of this blog states that children will always create their own play that is tangental to the apparatus.  Aksel's Tray is a good example of how rich that play is if we pay attention and take it as a cue for further activities or apparatus.  Thanks Aksel.

COMBINING APPARATUS

First of all, I want to thank all those who attended my presentation on sensory tables at the NAEYC annual conference in Atlanta last weekend. There has been an noticeable uptick in the number of hits to this blog, so I want to thank you.  If you ever have any questions or comments, I invite you to either comment on the post or send me an email.  

After the Tubes and Funnels apparatus and after the Channel Board apparatus, I decided to combine the two apparatus into one big apparatus.

With this new combination, children still have to figure out where the water goes when they pour it in one of the funnels.  If you look at the channel board, you can see that two of the tubes empty onto the channel board.  That is trickier that it may seem because for water to flow out of the two tubes, the water first has to flow down and then back up before it can flow out of these long tubes.

What that means for the children operating on the combined apparatus is that the water does not flow out of the tubes with much force.  You can see the anemic flow of water out of the sprinkler head in the picture below.

So how do children figure out which funnels empty out of which tubes?  They investigate.  That is illustrated nicely in the video below.  Watch as the boy first pours water into the black funnel.  He looks through the crate to see where the water goes.  He figures out pretty quickly that the funnel is connected to the black tube.  He then follows the tube down and then up.  He declares: "It went in here."  He follows the tube to the end and then uses his hand to trace the tube's path from crate to the board.  He asks: "Oh, what is this?"  I am not sure why he asks the question because he seems to know that the water flows through the tube.  Maybe he is just saying what he is thinking because he then states: "It [the water] went down this one." He again scoops up some water to pour in the funnels.  He starts with one funnel and actually looks at the channel board to see where the water will go.  After referencing the channel board, he decides to pour the water into the funnel in front of the black funnel.  He immediately turns and sees that the water come out of the sprinkler head.  He chuckles and says that it is funny.   Watch him figure out the apparatus.

Where does the water go? from Thomas Bedard on Vimeo.

When the children begin to figure out how the apparatus works, they come up with their own operations.  Watch as this girl demonstrates how to make water come out of both tubes at the same time.  She has figured out that if she pours water into two particular funnels at the same time, the water comes out onto the channel board at the same time.  Watch.

I made them come out at the same time! from Thomas Bedard on Vimeo.

I think her little chuckle indicates the sense of agency she has in having figured this operation out.

I kept the loose parts from the previous post.  That led to a whole host of other operations and experimentation.  I was especially struck by two three-year-olds that figured out how to propel little orange bottles down the clear tube by first setting the bottle in the tube and then pouring water down the tube.  Watch.




What is so striking about this video is that they have figured out how water carries objects down a incline.  They did this on their own.  Not only that, they take turns effortlessly and with social grace.  That is a nice melding of science and social learning.

CHANNEL BOARD AND LOOSE PARTS

I wrote about the Channel Board last week.  I wrote about how it was made and how the children used it.

I am often asked: Do you let the children build or help build an apparatus?  My answer no, not at this point.  Every time I am asked, though, I have to think about it again.  There are two main reasons why I do not engage the children in the building of the apparatus.  One reason is that I see over 100 children a week.  I see them over eight classes that only meet once a week for a two hours.  It is hard to create continuity between the classes; no two children are in the same class.  I see what I build for the sensory table as an installation that has to be strong and secure for all the children to use during the course of a week.  The second reason is selfish: I believe everyone needs a creative outlet and building apparatus for the sensory table is mine.

That said, I think that young children do need avenues to create and put things together.  To that end, I added loose parts to the Channel Board this year.  First of all, there was the crate that was not secure, but just sitting in the table.  I thought children might take it out, but no, it became a space on which to operate and an area of focused play.  Below you can see a child using the crate.  He has set a funnel in the hole and is pouring water in the hole.

On the shelves next to the sensory table, there was a clear tube for which the children found many uses.
                                                                 
The boy on the left is using it in conjunction with the Channel Board. He has laid it in one of the channels and is pouring water in the tube for his friend to catch.  The girl on the right has set the tube in the ever-present 5-gallon pail and is pouring water from the table into it.




There were also pieces of flexible tubing on the shelves that the children found and used.

On the left, boy is trying to pour the water down the clear tubing from his plastic measuring cup.  That takes some precise pouring.  Before long, he finds that a funnel fits nicely into the tubing (the picture on the right) and makes the job of pouring easier.




He does not stop there.  He finds another bigger funnel and fits into the black funnel for more pouring fun.

The process of using the loose parts really got interesting when the children started combining them.  The child pictured below is holding the flexible tubing in the mouth of the clear plastic tube to transport water from the table into the pail.

And even more intriguing was one group started to put the tubing inside the larger clear tube.  That led to some original pouring operations.

Wait!  Did I just make a case for the children building at the sensory table?  Maybe I will have to include more loose parts from now on.

CHANNEL BOARD

A Channel Board is a board divided into three channels.  The channels are formed by 2 x 4's screwed into the base board from the bottom side.  Each channel is then rigged with a different surface so that when water flows down the individual channels, it flows with different effects.

One channel has bubble wrap that is held in place with carpet tape.  As water flows down the bubble wrap, it disperses around the channels between the bubbles of the bubble wrap.  If water is poured slowly, the effect is dramatic: water creeps down through the channel.  The middle channel is black plastic drainage pipe cut in half and attached to the channel with screws.  When water is poured down this channel, large ripples are created.  The third channel has a piece of rubber floor mat that is stapled in the channel.  The rubber floor mat has smaller ribs, so when water is poured down the channel, little ripples are created.

This is a take-off on the Water Ramp apparatus featured in this post.

I have tried different materials in the channels.  One year, I lined one channel with carpet.  Can you guess what happened to the water when it was poured down that channel?  It disappeared and then slowly leaked out the bottom of the channel.  One year, the middle channel was outfitted with a PVC pipe that was cut in half.

If you think about it, there is no end to what material---and subsequent effects---you can use in the channels.

Another interesting aspect of this apparatus is illustrated by the picture below.  Two girls are trying to catch the water that is poured down the channels.  Once the water hits the flat board, though, it is anybody's guess where it goes.

That, by no means, is a deterrent for any child.

The apparatus is very sturdy; it has lasted at least a decade.  The one drawback, though, is that it is heavy, and because it is heavy, it is hard to secure.   One year, I actually had the bottom of the apparatus resting on the bottom of the tub.  That damaged the board because it was always in water, which is not good for wood.  One year I used less of an incline and formed a short bridge between the table and a tub.  The problem there was that water would drip off the side.  Below is the configuration and the subsequent solution that year.

Since I do not look over my documentation before I set up an apparatus, I re-invent the wheel, so to speak, each time I set up an apparatus I have used before.  That was true this year, too.  I forgot how heavy the channel apparatus was so I set it up at a fairly steep angle (see the first picture in this post). The apparatus only lasted a day on that incline because its weight made the setup unsustainable.  Below is this year's final configuration that lasted the week.

The incline is not so great.  It rests on the tray on the blue table and the lip on the clear table. There is no need for a tray underneath because the channels keep the water from spilling out the side.  One addition this year is the unattached crate.  It ended up to be a surface above the water on which to operate and area of focused play.

That is enough explanation for now.  Take a look at how the children actually use the apparatus. In the video below one child is filling a bowl with water and rolling it down a channel on its side. She fills the bowl each time.  It's almost like the bowl and water are racing down the channel together.  A second child is pushing a copper pot down the middle channel.  That takes a little more effort than the rolling the bowl on its side.  She is looking at the child rolling the bowl down the adjacent channel as if to reference her own actions.  A third child is pouring water down the bubble wrap channel with a pink cup.  A fourth child is gathering water at the bottom tub.  She comes around to the top of the board and pours the water down the same channel as the child who is rolling the bowl.  Whether intentional or not, it is a nice bit of choreographed action.  The fifth child is an active observer. After observing she goes over to the shelf to pick out what she wants to work with.

Channel Board Work from Thomas Bedard on Vimeo.

Did you notice there are only girls around the sensory table this day?

There is more than pouring water and rolling objects down the channels.  Often times the children will run their hands down the different channels to feel the texture.  Sometimes it is a full-on texture experience with the feel of the water rubbed over the channel.


Another girl at the sensory table!  How great is that?


P.S.  My posts may be a little spotty over the next month.  I am doing a session on reflective practice at the sensory table for the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota this coming weekend. I am also finalizing my presentation on building a dynamic sensory table for the National Association for the Education of Young Children Annual Conference in Atlanta November 7 - 10. If you are attending the conference and want to see my presentation it is on Saturday morning from 8 - 9:30 am.  If you are at the conference but can't attend the presentation---maybe a little too early---drop me a line and maybe we can meet and chat.

AN ADDITION TO CLEAR PLASTIC TUBING AND FUNNELS

Last week I wrote about Clear Plastic Tubes and Funnels.  I kept that apparatus up for a second week, but I added another component: a 5.5 liter laundry detergent jug with a push valve.

A crate is taped to the small water table.  The jug is taped securely to the crate.  A firm, clear plastic tube is taped to the handle of the jug and empties into the tray forming the base of the tubes and funnels apparatus.  A funnel is taped to the jug and is connected to a tube that is threaded through the crate to empty into the blue table.

Here is a view from the other side.  You can see that a hole is cut in the laundry jug for filling.

Pushing the button on the laundry jug is not as simple as it may look.  Why?  Because it takes a certain amount of force to get the button to push down.  In fact, you have to use an index finger on the lip of the button mechanism to create enough opposing force for the thumb to push down. Once it is down, it is easy to hold down and fill a cup.

Some children were able to master the operation by themselves.  Some were not.  That was OK, because getting water out of the jug then became a two or three person operation.  We often take these operations for granted, but they do take a certain amount of communication, coordination and cooperation.  And don't forget the active observer taking it all in so he can contribute later on.

In reviewing pictures for this post, I ran across the picture below.  A child is filling the jug through the hole.  That was expected.  What was not expected was the other child watching the operation through the small cap hole on the end.

Of course, the child pouring had to check the water level himself.

Here is a little insight into on how this component originated.  Last year a colleague gave me the laundry detergent jug.   She said when the jug was empty, she immediately thought of me.  If anyone could do anything with it, she thought, I could---and probably in the sensory table.  I took it not really knowing how I would use it.  In fact, I did not do anything with it all year last year. Instead, I left it in the housekeeping area as a prop, which the children generously appropriated for their own purposes.  It was easy to carry around because of the handle and they enjoyed the challenge of pushing the red button.  I would revisit using it as part of an apparatus every once in awhile, but none of the ideas seem to gain any traction.  I could have left it in the housekeeping area this year, too, but using it to extend the tube and funnel apparatus was as likely place to start as any.   The challenge was to have the jug above the table out of the water oriented in such a way as to allow the children to operate the button.  I also wanted the jug to be within reach but the button still had to be over the table so when it was pressed the water would empty into the table and not onto the floor.  I brought in a crate and tried two different orientations.  Once I was satisfied with the orientation, I taped the crate to the table and then the jug to the create. Once the jug was in place, I added the other components to make it more interesting. 

Sometimes it just takes a willingness to play with objects---almost like a child---to see a idea become a reality.   By the way, I joked with the parents that this component originating from adult world of washing clothes allows the children to work on the "life skill" of pushing the button of a laundry detergent jug. 

CLEAR PLASTIC TUBING AND FUNNELS

Before I tell you about this apparatus, I must thank Juliet Robertson from I'm a teacher, get me OUTSIDE here!  Back in September, she wrote a post on a water wall that used the axioms, dimensions, and elements on the right-hand column of this blog to understand how the children explored all aspects of play at the water wall.  I think she did a better job of explaining the axioms than I do.  Check it out here.  And thanks Juliet.

Clear Plastic Tubing and Funnels is a favorite apparatus.  I try to set it up every year.  I did not set it up last year, so it was the first apparatus I set up for our new school year.

The setup is as follows.  There is a planter tray set inside the table that is the base for the apparatus.  A crate is then duct taped to the tray to make it sturdy.  Next, funnels are inserted into individual pieces of clear plastic tubing and the two are duct taped together.  The tubing is threaded through the crate so the funnel sits on top of the crate and the tubing exits the crates in various places.  The funnels are secured to the top of the crate with duct tape.  The clear plastic tubing is also secured to the crate and various parts of the table to make them secure.  In the picture above, the highlighted funnel is connected to the tubing that empties back into the table through a sprinkler head.  What that means is that the water is poured into a funnel on one side of the table, crosses over to the other side of the table through the tube running through the crate, and travels along the opposite side of the table along the edge before emptying into the table through the sprinkler head.

Here is a picture showing where the other funnels that are connected to shorter tubes empty.

And if you go to the other side of the crate, there is a big black funnel that is connected to a black tube that empties into a second water table.

And when the children begin to figure out how the water flows through the "water machine," there is a lot of focused action that usually connects several children.

This year I have changed the setup that holds the implements and utensils that the children use in the sensory table.  That setup is pictured below.

Everything often ends up in the table, but it is a nice way to start the class and it gives children a place to put the implements and utensils when it is time to clean up.

I have posted twice about this apparatus before here and here.  The second of those posts really points out how children use familiar and novel operations to explore the apparatus.

I have to leave you with this final picture; it attests to capacity for play at this apparatus. For this particular class, this is only their second session together.  Still, well over half the class has chosen to play here with total engagement.  Some are working at the funnels; some are working at the ends of the tubes; and some are just scooping and pouring.  How many children can you count around the table?   

SENSORY APPARATUS PART IV

I was asked last spring by another early childhood professional why do I build apparatus for the sensory table. That questions was a lot more thought-provoking than I had anticipated.  I have been mulling over my answer here and here and here.  In the first post, I said that early in my career children demonstrated their need to transport any medium out of the sensory table.  I began to build apparatus so children could continue to find ways to constructively transport.  An added benefit was that the children, given the chance to work constructively, demonstrated an ability to regulate their own behavior.  In the second post, I said that children recreated operations such as digging and collecting that harken back to a time when our survival depended on such operations. Those fundamental/primal operations are in our DNA and need to be expressed.  I build apparatus so children can recreate the ancient operations both in old and new ways and even create new variations of those operations.  In the third post, I stated that children create a dialogue with spaces.   It follows that if I can offer the children intriguing spaces by way of building new apparatus, they will create intriguing dialogues with those spaces.

This summer I read---and reread---a monograph entitled: Children's right to play.  It was written by Stuart Lester and Wendy Russell for the Bernard van Leer Foundation in December 2010.  Their starting point is Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Right of the Child.  In that article, they specifically cite the right of the child to engage in play. For them it is a necessity of life for children.  It is not a vehicle adults use to teach children about the world, nor is it a way to make academics palatable to children.  It is an activity undertaken for its own sake that is wholly owned by the children.

They go so far as to cite research that children need to engage in play for their very survival and well-being.  They say: "Children's play can be seen as a self-protecting process that offers the possibilities to enhance adaptive capabilities and resilience. ... Play acts across several adaptive systems to contribute to health, well-being and resilience.  These include: pleasure and enjoyment; emotion regulation; stress response systems; attachments; and learning and creativity."

At one point in the paper, they reference a comment by Brian Sutton-Smith.  The comment states: "Play prepares you for more play, and more play offers a greater satisfaction in being alive."

Take a look at the following pictures from the sensory table to see if the children exude that "greater satisfaction in being alive."

According to the authors, the role of an adult is to provide for the space and time for children to play---not to direct it or manage it.  Building apparatus for the sensory table is a way to create that space and time in my classroom for the children to play.  Watch the video below.  It is poor in quality, but rich in what it communicates.  What they are doing is not nearly as important as how they are doing it.  

 WHAT ARE THEY DOING? from Thomas Bedard on Vimeo.

Here were seven children ages 2 to 5 creating an activity of their own choosing that has an immediate meaning for them. There are no adults directing or managing this activity; they are simply not around.  The adult role in the activity was to set up the space and time for them to pursue their own exploration or to create their own wholly owned activity.  Notice, even though there are no adults around, they are still working feverishly to complete a task that takes a whole lot of agreement and a whole lot of accommodation and a whole lot of negotiation and a whole lot of cooperation.   In other words, they are playing---which they have a right to do.

(p.s. I am done mulling over the question for the time being and will go back to playing next week. Thank you for your indulgence.)