Helping Teachers Find Answers to their Teaching Challenges
Nadia’s Letter: Children rarely use the sensory table
I don’t understand why children in my classroom are not interested in playing at the sensory table.
Dear Professors,
I need help with a teaching challenge I do not know what to do about. I don’t understand why children in my classroom are not interested in playing at the sensory table. I think the sensory table is an important learning center because it gives children opportunities to use their initiative to explore new materials and find out what they can do with them. It connects so well to STEAM. I need help with new ideas to draw children to the sensory table and to hold their attention there.
The sensory water table is the least used play area in the classroom and on some days, no one plays there at all even though four children have space to play. It is open for 45 minutes during “work time”, giving children an extended period of play. Despite my best efforts, the sensory table is uninteresting to children.
They prefer to play in other play centers, e.g. the house, blocks, listening area and lately the art center.
I observe that when materials are placed in the sensory table, children often play with them for a short time and then leave. Even though a varied range of materials exist in the sensory table, children’s interest is short-lived. The materials are regularly changed in the hope that children’s interest will increase. It seems that children enjoy playing with anything that is wet and messy.
The same challenges persist even when I use a variety of sensory materials
Even though water, dirt, sand, snow, bird seed, popcorn, beads, feathers and table top toys have all been used, the same challenges persist.
A wide range of tools is made available for children to use at the sensory table, including spoons, pitchers, funnels, fishing poles with magnets, and containers with lids that open in different ways. However, these tools do not hold children’s interest for long.
Please help me understand what is going wrong and what I can do to improve this aspect of my teaching?
Thank you,
Nadia
Dear Nadia,
Thank you for writing to us and describing many very good examples of sensory area provision you already make in your classroom. We understand the teaching challenges you face concerning children’s lack of sustained play at the sensory table. We offer you suggestions to help you overcome them.
We have made a plan that responds to each of your three teaching challenges you face concerning:
Children’s underuse of the sensory table
Understanding how children learn at the sensory table
Setting up and resourcing the sensory table
The goal is to improve both the quality and quantity of children’s play at the sensory table so that opportunities for learning and development are increased.
Despite my best efforts, the sensory table is uninteresting to children.
We encourage you to read the following articles that introduce you to strategies that address your teaching challenges at the sensory table.
Morgan, Amanda (2010) A Handful of Fun: Why Sensory Play is Important for Preschoolers.http://www.notjustcute.com
In this article three ways are given to help educators sustain all children’s play at the sensory table:
Provide children with plenty of free and structured play opportunities during the daily routine to explore sensory materials at the sensory table. This experience will support children’s intellectual development and help them engage and sustain their play for longer.
Foster talk between educators and children during sensory play that will support children’s language and vocabulary development. When educators take turns and carefully listen to children’s conversation, they enable children to ask and answer questions that develop their thinking. Children then learn to express language that describe their actions and make up stories that sustain their play.
Provide children with a range of tools in the sensory area that enable children to act on and combine materials together. These actions support children’s manipulative, creative and problem solving skills and so help to sustain their play.
We believe the sensory area gives children opportunities to use their initiative to explore new materials and find out what they can do with them.
To more fully understand how children learn at the sensory table please read these two articles:
George Szekely (2003) Water ArtistsNote: We regret the journal, Arts and Activities, didn’t respond to our request for permission, if you would like a copy of the article you will need to purchase it here for 2.00: https://artsandactivities.com/store-2/products/june-2003-article-orders/
Archived number and title: A060342 Children’s Art Diary: Water Artists, George Szekely June 2003, Water art and play
These articles explain how the sensory area supports all areas of children’s learning at the same time. It explains why the sensory table is such an important learning center in the preschool classroom:
All learning domains, including social, physical, language, intellectual, creative and emotional are simultaneously supported during children’s play at the sensory table. Integration across the domains results in very rich opportunities for play that promote children’s learning and development.
Children are able to create meaningful scenarios that enable their memories, relationships and experiences to be replayed and further developed.
When educators observe, ask questions, provide new materials and plan ongoing activities, Educators have crucial opportunities that support and sustain children’s play at the sensory table.
Even though a varied range of materials exist in the sensory table, children’s interest is short-lived.
Read this article to learn how to set up an effective sensory area:
Locate the sensory area in a calm area of the classroom that is not affected by through traffic.
Locate shelving in the sensory area adjacent to the sensory table. Sort, label and organize a wide range of sensory and open-ended materials that are easily accessible to children
Ensure the sensory table is empty at the start of each session. This allows children to use their initiative, plan their own ideas for play and choose relevant materials to play out their ideas.
We hope these ideas will help you improve your teaching in the sensory area with the result that children’s learning opportunities are improved and sustained.
Note: We regret the journal, Arts and Activities, didn’t respond to our request for permission, if you would like a copy of the article you will need to purchase it here for 2.00: https://artsandactivities.com/store-2/products/june-2003-article-orders/
Archived number and title: A060342 Children’s Art Diary: Water Artists, George Szekely June 2003, Water art and play
