Monday, June 17, 2013

Why You Want a Water Table

and TEN creative ways to use it!
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Those of you who are familiar with my blog are no stranger's to baby X's fantastic expressions.  A few weeks back the Seattle weather, normally rainy until JULY, gave us a little summer teaser and baby X got his first experience with our water table.The photos were just too good to not share, so I thought I'd write a little post about why we love water tables.For those of you with water tablesalready, there are TEN creative ideas for how to use them at the end of the post.  :)


X loves water.  LOVES it.  And water is really one of the best (and free!) sensory materials ever.  There's warm water, cold water, ice - so many ideas and ways to play using just water.  For the littlest guys, water tablesare a great way to practice standing and cruising and splashing.


You can introduce fine motor practice by placing items in the water table for grabbing (please note the items pictured are not baby toys, and do pose a choking hazard - X has an older sister and is always supervised and an adult is always within arms' reach).


As baby X illustrates here - water tablesare just THE COOLEST.  We bought our first water table when S was 10 months old and we've used it constantly ever since.  As X gets older, he'll begin to use the water table to practice scooping and pouring like his big sister does now.


Honestly my kids really enjoy a water table with, well, water, but you can spice it up a bit if you are so inclined.  And for those of you with long winters like us here in Seattle, a cleaned/dried water table makes a fantastic indoor sensory table during the colder months (you could fill it with sand, moon sand, birdseed, dried beans - the possibilities are nearly endless!).


For those of you who already have a water table or for those of you who will soon have one, here are ten fun ways to use your water table this summer:

Add some soap and set up a Washing Station like Fun at Home with Kids


 Make a fun outdoor Penguin World that also helps you practice counting like Thrive 360 Living


Make a Dinosaur Sensory Bin like Fantastic Fun and Learning


Do some Sensory Tub Painting like No Time for Flashcards


Add in some letter practice and make Alphabet Soup like My Nearest and Dearest


Explore colors with Colored Ice like Fun-a-Day


Create a Spring Sensory Table like The Pleasantest Thing


Create an Ocean Sensory Tub like No Time for Flashcards
Set up a Marshmallow Sensory Play like Fantastic Fun and Learning


Have some Fizzy Fun like My Nearest and Dearest


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Please always supervise your infant/child at play.  Please stay within arms reach and never leave infants/children unattended.

10 comments:

  1. Just love those faces!!! Thank you for including some of our sensory bins. We get tons of use out of our water table!

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    1. They are hilarious, right? He was killing us with all his crazy excited expressions. Of course - you are SO creative with water table uses!!!!

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  2. We just got a water table this week, and this has given me some great ideas. Thanks!

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    1. Excellent, Ilia! I'm so glad to hear it. And I'm sure you'll all have so much fun with your new water table!

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  3. I've been debating whether a water table would be a good addition for my little girl. This post has sold me on how much fun it will be. Thanks!

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    1. Hi ncsukat! I hope that she loves it as much as we do! It seriously is such a great investment - we use it at parties and playdates and just about every day! My kids never get tired of it, and S has had this water table for 3 years! :)

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  4. He is such a little star!! Lovely collection of ideas thanks...we are still playing with water and it's winter here!

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  5. At what age would you recommend introducing a water table?

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    1. Probably somewhere around 6 months, a baby will really start showing interest in it. Every baby is different, but give or take a few months, that's a good estimate I think. As they get older, they will use it differently. Particularly around the age that they start cruising (this is VERY different from child to child), they will really get a kick out of it (in my experience). Hope that helps! :)

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