Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Somebody Stop Me!

I am this close to buying the Step 2 Sand and Water Table. Ever since Andrew saw it at K-mart ($70 earlier this year), he's dreamed of it. Evidently the sand and water station is the hip place to play at preschool. Aldi advertises one for $42 in this week's flyer. He's really too tall for it, but it would be a nice "big brother" surprise for the baby's arrival in June. See? I rationalize purchases just like everyone else. I'm only human.
I guess we'll just add it to the dream yard sale list. Andrew did say he could make one of his own, if only I would buy him some "kid wood" for its construction. It took us three frustrating days to figure out what he meant: that ubiquitous wood-grain plastic resin. Yep, kid wood.

7 comments:

Laura Talbert said...

Since I run a home daycare, a sand and water table has been something I have long thought about. Honestly what has stopped me is the mess and the dread of sand flying into an eye. Plus, I have cats who might find it more interesting than the kiddoes.
What I have done instead is make my own "sensory" table. I use a Rubbermaid under-the-bed box and fill it with birdseed. The kids drive their cars and fill their cups with it just as if it were sand. We only use it outside, usually on the deck, and it sits on a Little Tykes table so it is just the right height. When we're done, I just put the lid on and sweep it up (or not).
I have also used rice. And during a particularly rainy season, or in winter, I set it up in the house using dried beans. Easy clean up=)
Oh, and on hot summer days, I put a bit of water in there, get the kids into their suits and they wash dolls, or play with splash balls.
It works really well for us!

Anonymous said...

Meredith,
as the poster above said.. make it yourself.. rubbermaid boxes with tight lids work wonderfully... we used them all the time when I worked at headstart.. we would change the contents around as well.. cornmeal, rice, sand, water.. just set it on a small table or on the ground...

Shannon said...

I'm thinking building on myself would be a great idea. I let the kids play out on the deck a lot during the day and something like this would be excellent. Great idea.

"Kid wood"...that's funny. How old is Andrew?

Mrs. Happy Housewife said...

I used a clear, plastic box(Sterlite brand). The box was filled with sand, rice, food colored rice, dry beans, water, soapy water, or etc. The kids loved it. When they got bored of it, I just cleaned the box and used it for something else.

Meredith said...

I knew some smart other moms could knock some sense into me! I have an underbed box I can put to work tomorrow. THANK YOU!

Anonymous said...

Just noticed something interesting ... I happened to see that table in my Aldi flyer (I live in Indiana) and it's $45!

Anonymous said...

Our pediatrician's office has an interesting sand table: It is a box on legs, filled with sand, covered with a fixed plexiglass lid. Inside the sand are plastic critters with magnets in their belly. Attached to the table are magnet wands that the kids use on the underside of the table to move the critters around. Imagine if you had some bulldozers and other earthmovers in there! AND pebbles or rocks! That would be fun too : )

Your son will dearly love being involved in making his own table, that's for sure, from all the invention pics you've posted.

Debbie