What exactly is a sensory table??

A sensory table or sensory bin is a place where you fill it with a variety of textures for your toddler to explore. Examples would be:
1. rice
2. beans
3. sand
4. coffee grounds (smells yummy)
5. cornmeal or sugar
6. can also mix in small toys (about the size of your thumb) such as legos, dinosaurs, animals, sea creatures. The possibilties are endless!

Provide scoops, measuring cups, funnels etc. for them to sift and pour--voila! Instant fun!

Great idea! I wish I had thought of it myself!

I love this idea, but anything in that bin would end up all over the floor. My son is only ten months old, though. Would probably work better with older children.

Uh, and let's call a spade a spade here: This is basically a sandbox that's too small to sit in.

Thanks burnttoast!!
Hmmm.... i think if i had a toddler, i would put a sensory box in a sandbox and then let the child do whatever it wanted.

I LOVE the 'idea' of it, but for anything 3yrs, it seems like it would involve a LOT of clean up.

But then again, i guess if you took it outside, it would be really cool and you wouldn't have to worry about cleaning up sand/dirt off the floor.

Some times, it is nice to take the plunge and allow something that will take cleanup...or buy a tarp to lay underneath. I remember my FAVORITE activities in kindergarten were the cornmeal table & shaving cream table. The cornmeal table was similar to the sensory table described. The shaving cream table you had to wear an apron & there was a tarp underneath. The teacher squirted shaving cream n the table and you got got rub it around & draw pictures in the shaving cream, pile it up into shapes, etc. We could have spent hours doing that. For me it beat playing house any day.

You could also half fill it with water (under supervision of course) plus some toys that float and some that sink. My 10 month old loves standing and splashing in my toddler's water tub.

Ellsie22...shaving foam is a good one. My mum used to squirt it on the table for us to play with while she got the ironing done! My brother and I used to have great fun. Now, 30 years later my kids are enjoying it. It isn't that messy to clean up, just a cloth and some water.

I love sensory tables! My son's kindergarten had one, and it was his favorite feature of the room by far. My daughter's preschool has one too and I know all the kids in there are nuts for it. I'd do it for sure. And one of the rules at both of those schools is that the kids have to clean up after themselves. That may help them contain the mess themselves a little better. This hack is a great idea!

I'm starting to want one for myself!

ellsie22 thank you for mentioning the cornmeal table! My preschool had one when I was little and every time I've told someone about it they have no idea what I'm talking about. Of course, I was the kid that ate the cornmeal as well but I swear I turned out ok. Anyway, I think it's a great idea for an indoor "mini" sandbox.

Love this idea!

I need your help on a few of the details...

Where did you purchase the storage bins? (since they'll need to fit exactly) I would love to find one with a lid too.

Did you adhere the bins to the nightstand in some way so the bin doesn't get bumped off the stand?

Did you find you need to stabilize the base or is it sturdy as is?

Thanks for your help!

I am a toddler teacher and the sensory table has to be the favorite. I also have a 6 yr old, 5 yr old, and a 19 month old at home and we have our own sensory table that we fill. You can put just about anything in it then watch their imaginations go. I have put in snow, water, ice cubes, oatmeal, cornmeal, rice, noodles, beans, instant mashed potato flakes, flour, brown sugar, water scented, easter grass with plastic eggs, sand, yarn pieces, paper with scissors, shaving cream, sugar, insta snow, i could keep going and going. Of course supervision is needed with little one. I add measuring cups, spoons, old plastic containers, turkey basters, plastic animals, on and on. Don't be afraid of mess!!