Tuesday Table Time: What Is Table Time Anyway?

It's Tuesday morning, but it could be any weekday morning in this house. My husband leaves for work by 5:30AM, and since being home for the summer and no longer needing to set the ol' alarm every night, I've yet to wake up after my toddler--but I'm aware it could happen. It is a known fact that I am a morning person. I just need to have my coffee first. One of my sweet little boy's first words was "coffee," and he's been known to pick up my cup, hand it to me and say "Mommy, more coffee" on occasion when my amazingly perky demeanor hasn't woken up yet. I needed a plan going into this summer as well as the year ahead--something that could occupy my toddler while I activate my pleasant daytime mode or prepare breakfast or just take a few deep breaths to start the day. And so, from a simple child's sized card table and chairs as well as a dose of ingenuity, Table Time was born.

And it's not just a morning thing. Table Time refers to any activity that can occupy the attention of a child of any age for a developmentally reasonable length of time (with a toddler, this varies) with minimal adult support and involvement. To be clear, this is not the time I set out the Netflix (although that also has its time and place in our home). When he was a baby who could not yet sit at a table, I frequently set out discovery baskets-- a basket with household items like measuring cups, measuring spoons, metal colanders, spoons and spatulas, or sensory bottles for shaking and exploring, or a variety of fabrics like scarves, washcloths, fuzzy socks and silk fashion scarves for my son to explore. This was one of his first entrances into the world of independent play and tinkering. I might leave the same basket out for a week or so at a time and then swap the materials out. Now that he is two, one aspect that makes Table Time successful is the novelty of it. I do set out a different activity each night before I go to bed that he can use in the morning and throughout the following day as desired. I do not, however, reinvent the wheel on a daily basis. Many of our activities follow a weekly routine and rotation. Every Friday morning, my son comes to a table set up with a plastic cup and stickers he uses to decorate his own kiddush cup for the upcoming Shabbos meals. Usually about once a week lately, the activity involves playdough as that is a current favorite of his. This is an activity he will often revisit multiple times throughout the day. As we explore themes in our "Mommy Camp/Mommy School," or as certain holidays or seasons approach, I aim for the activities to be theme related. Pinterest is a great resource for this and there are many blogs as well as books devoted to sharing ideas for age-based activities, projects and games. Sometimes I will even set out a toy he hasn't played with in awhile or put a couple of toys out that he may not have thought to use together before.  My son does not always choose to use what I set out on the table nor does he always use it in the way I anticipated. I am totally OK with this. It is there if he is interested, he knows what to expect and many times if an activity does not draw his interest on its own, my sitting at the table and beginning to play will draw him in and lead to independent play.

My essential goal with Table Time activities is to encourage independent play (not as in a babysitter in place of me, although independent play can act as an extra set of hands while a parent gets a few things done around the house). Many times I make observational comments (non-judgmental and non-praising) just noticing what my son is doing. Feeling noticed can feed a need for healthy self-esteem in a more sustainable manner than even comments of praise--think recognition versus approval. For example, I might say "I see you're rolling the playdough into a long, thin shape" as opposed to "I love how you're making a wiggly worm" or "great job with the playdough today!" Sometimes I do join in the activity with him (and some activities do require more assistance than others, like peeling smaller stickers off the paper), and other times I do not. I love watching the ideas children can come up with on their own for using materials and activities set out in this manner. In homes where children span in age, a bit more creativity may need to come into play. While unattended markers might be a great material for an older child to use independently, they may be a recipe for a new paint job for a younger one. On the other hand, an older child can support a younger one in using markers, or Table Time activities that are geared toward older children can be reserved for the times when the younger ones are napping and the older ones are bored.

Lastly, when choosing activities for Table Time, you do want something fun and interesting and developmentally challenging enough to capture attention, but you do not want something that will lead to feelings of frustration. When this has happened, I have altered or adapted my materials or even just put an activity away and shifted gears. You can't win 'em all! I try to keep my expectations reasonable as well. What I think my son my LOVE may not interest him at all, and what I think he will pass right over might become his new favorite thing to do. Keeping an open mind and an ounce of humor to go with it goes a long way.

Below is a small sampling of some of our recent Table Time activities. Future Table Time posts will include one or more activities at a time, sometimes theme related. Enjoy & happy playing!

During our dinosaur theme, I FINALLY found a use for that funny faux grass bottle drying rack (which I HAD to have but never used). I thought my son wouldn't get too into this one, but he LOVED it. He had more success with the smaller tongs (purchased in a 4 pack at a Dollar Tree) and still needed to use his "helper" hand to work with the dinosaurs, but loved trying to use the tongs to pick them up and set them up in the "Jurassic Jungle." 

I HATE surprising loud noises, so we had to stop playing Jenga here! But I found a fun use for those perfectly sized wooden blocks. My little one liked this so much, I ended up storing it in the pencil case and leaving it out on his toy shelf for him to revisit throughout our dinosaur themed weeks at Mommy & Me Camp.

Playdough Silly Faces--a great addition to an "All About Me" theme, "Feelings" theme or any rainy day! This one is great for older children as well.

During a gardening theme, this parts of a plant playdough exploration was a big hit, The "seeds" are dried black beans, the "stems" are pipe cleaners and I took apart some artificial flowers from the discount store for flowers and leaves. This happens to be homemade playdough that I scented with lavender oil, but any playdough or clay can be used.

After a long and happy life on our dining room table, these beautiful flowers were on their way out, but not before my toddler got a chance to play and explore with them. He loved using the magnifying glasses and pulling apart the petals. Older children could also use scissors or tweezers.