Table Time Tuesday: Shavuot Theme

Last year's Playdough Invitation to Create Har Sinai

By now, you probably know my love of Table Time activities, or what I describe as any activity that can engage a young child for a developmentally reasonable amount of time with minimal adult support and involvement and be used in a contained area (i.e. a table or part of a room, etc.). Some folks refer to these as "busy box" activities or "quiet time" activities and they can be used for a wakeful child during a sibling's nap, by a toddler with a mommy nursing an infant, or while the adult caregiver is trying to tend to chores and household tasks, etc. Indeed, I set out Table Time activities nearly every evening to welcome and occupy S in the morning so we can move through breakfast routines and getting ready for the day at a reasonable pace without a lot of stopping to redirect. I have done this for about a year now (noted by the photo to the left!) and now Table Time activities do not just refer to those that I set out on the table, but also activities S can grab and take to the table himself. I keep these available to him on our play/learning shelves and in our STEAM cart drawers as well. Some activities instantly draw S in for independent play, while others require a bit more luring and demonstration before he feels confident to explore on his own. Among his very favorite types of Table Time activities right now are invitations to create with playdough or process art, felt board sets, anything with stickers, his journal, and theme-related play and learning activities. There is no need to reinvent the wheel either. It's OK (wonderful, even!) to set out a repeat activity. Art and writing activities need not always involve a lot of prep work and craftiness either; it's OK to use coloring books and worksheets if these will engage your little ones. Sometimes setting out a toy, puzzle, or material or even a combination of toys and materials that are already familiar will engage children simply because they are placed in a way that is inviting and therefor novel! (For example, setting out woodblocks and plastic dinosaurs may create a whole new world of play for two toys that were just before collecting dust on the shelf.) Small scale sensory bins are also great for Table Time. These are sensory bins or experiences that are presented and stored in a small container versus a water table or large bin and usually have room to play for one or two children at the most. For those who hesitant to use larger scale sensory bins, this is a wonderful starting point as well!
In this Shavuot themed edition of Table Time Tuesday, you can take a peek at some of our favorite play and learning activities from this year as well as years past:

We've done this dissection of a flower table time more than once! It's great when you have some cut flowers on the wilt or even to do with weeds gathered from the garden. Simply set out your flowers and plants, some safety scissors, perhaps a magnifying glass, some tweezers and let your little botanist have a wonderful time exploring the parts of plants while developing fine motor skills as well!

As I said, art and writing activities need not always involve a lot of prep work--this is a Shavuot coloring sheet printed from this great free printable Shavuot pack, and rather than setting out the traditional crayons or markers, I set out Do-a-Dots and some flower stickers for him to decorate Har Sinai.

Playdough Invitation to Create: Parts of a Flower--in this Table Time activity, I set out lavender scented playdough we made at home, some dry bean "seeds," pipecleaner "stems" and artificial leaves and flowers for creating. I love using these discount store party trays for activities like this.

A small scale flower garden sensory bin:this is simply paper grass found in the party section of Dollar Tree, some artificial flowers, plastic garden pots, a scoop and some plastic tongs. 

Here's another repeat-worthy activity: Set out some floral foam and individual artificial flowers for sticking into the foam. You can even place the foam in a planter, pot or vase if you'd like. If you are not comfortable using floral foam or do not have any, you can do this activity with playdough or even a colander with holes that the stems can be fit into. It's a playful introduction to floral arranging and a great fine motor building activity. 

Invitation to Create Flowers: We did this activity last year and I stored the remaining parts in a ziplock bag for a rainy day or, as it turns out, our Shavuot unit this year! I am eager to see how S will use the materials this year now that he is a whole year older! I included full sheets of construction paper for the background and construction paper, tissue paper and printed paper cut to various sizes in the shapes of circles, petals, stems/strips and leaves. I also included a variety of colors of hole punched construction paper (this is a great fine motor activity for older preschoolers to do as well) and glue with craft sticks for spreading. Older preschoolers can help in the preparation for this art invitation or adults can cut/prepare the materials in advance. I do make a point to not do away with leftovers from activities like this. They can be used in other art activities, set in a scrap paper bin for cutting practice and child led process art or stored for future use.

I especially love these sectioned plates I found at our Dollar Tree for use with art and learning materials. 

Beyond being useful for creating designated spaces for different materials, they also fit quite nicely in our STEAM Cart drawers so that S can take out the activity on his own when he'd like and it can be neatly stored between uses..

Felt board sets are also great for Table Time story telling--rather than using with a vertical flannel board, I set out with a smaller portable flannel board (or you can simply provide a larger rectangle of felt).

I hope these give you some ideas and inspiration for your own tables as you prepare for Shavuot or even as part of a gardening or flowers theme this season. We are having a lot of fun with these and will be back  with more Shavuot themed activities soon. Until then...

Happy Playing!