Explore the 5 Senses with a Sensory Table!

It's a place designed for squishing, sifting, sorting, digging, and pouring, where children can get messy, have fun and play freely. It's a sensory table. And almost every preschool has one.

To duplicate this learning opportunity at home, place a large, shallow plastic tub (the kind meant for storage under beds work great!) on an existing table, hard-surface floor or outside on the ground. Spread a large bath towel underneath to catch any overflow. Keep rags, a handheld brush and a small dustpan nearby so your child can clean up as independently as possible. Add whatever equipment your child enjoys; sand toys and kitchen utensils are great, but even plain old plastic cups can be fun.

The following are some great fillers with which to begin:

Water

• Add soap to wash plastic dolls or dishes
• Add food coloring to experiment with color mixing
• Add assorted items to experiment with floating and sinking
• Add small plastic or rubber fish and a handheld net

Food

• Jell-O
• Noodles
• Dry instant mashed potatoes
• Cornmeal (makes a great sand substitute)

Easter grass with plastic insects and butterflies (Keep a reference book nearby to look up the bugs)

Grains

• Birdseed
• Rice
• Cereal
• Oatmeal

Office Extras

• Shredded paper
• Foam packing peanuts
• Colored paper clips

 Assorted leaves, twigs, grass, and magnifying glasses 

Household Items

• Cotton balls, buttons
• Shaving cream (In winter, add trucks to plow snowy roads in the table!) For children learning the alphabet, help them  trace letters in the shaving cream.) 

Magnets with a random assortment of metal objects to "catch"

When you have a specific goal in mind, such as helping your child sort different colored buttons, let him play alone first, then step in later. In most cases, given time to explore independently, a child will discover intended concepts.

Kids can help make lists (for example, of which items sink and which float) or talk to you about thier observations. Or they can just discover without the need to explain. Let them get dirty, and above all, have fun!