jwatertableeasel

Share your ideas too. E-mail me at stormie@preschoolbystormie.com

ON-GOING WATER TABLE ACTIVITY:
Styrofoam Packing Material
From Stormie:
I like putting this in my January water table (no water) so children can experience its static electricity properties (science). Place other items in the table too (paper, cotton, fabric pieces, metal, plastic, saran wrap, etc). Which items cling to the styrofoam? Does it cling to your hands, your clothes, your hair? What happens if you lie down in styrofoam? (You may want to do this at group time.)

Here are a few more things children can do with Styrofoam:
1. Sand it down with sandpaper
2. Sand down large pieces of Styrofoam using smaller pieces of Styrofoam
3. Paint it
Numbers 1 and 2 above are one great big mess, but lots of fun.

Share your wintertime water table activities too: From Betty Crenshaw, preschool teacher in Cape Girardeau, Missouri:
Add toothpicks to the Styrofoam in your water table: This month, my class has enjoyed using 2-3" Styrofoam balls and toothpicks to make their own creations. They have made everything from snowmen to porcupines, things that turn, things that look like the solar system. They're creating things I never would have imagined!

Here's a truly wonderful idea from Jill:
I put mashed potato flakes in my winter time water table for pretend "snowflakes."

From Leanne Grillot, teacher for the visually impaired:
For the letter N, you can put a mix of all shapes and sizes of pasta noodles in your water table. This is also a great tactile activity.

From Aisha Shelby, Minnesota:
Clean Mud: Stormie, we like adding "Clean Mud" to our January water table for the letter Mm. (It's also white like the color of winter snow.) Here's the recipe: In your water table, have children tear rolls of toilet paper and help you peel 4 bars of ivory soap (using child-safe plastic knives). Add warm water. Now let children dive in. (You can vary the amount of ingredients according to your own classroom and water table needs.)

From Kimerly Gaines:
Color White: For the color "white," we fill a large tub with salt, sugar or flour, small shovels, and hot wheels construction vehicles.

From Jennifer Williams, teacher of special needs preschoolers:
Pool of Fun: Instead of a water table, we use a small hard plastic kid's pool. So for our "Winter" unit, we fill it with Styrofoam peanuts (for snow). Our pool rules are: Only two children in it at a time, no sitting on the sides, and shoes come off before getting in. The children LOVE it! It's like playing in a regular pool, but with a medium other than water. For safety, you may want to set the pool on a gym mat. We have also padded the walls where the pool is located.
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Reminder from Stormie: If you would like to begin collecting ALL my current classroom ideas (each on a 4 x 6" index card), as well as new ones that I create, you can do so by ordering my "Activity Cards." Click here to check them out.

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