Digging in the Dirt: Simple Split-Side Sensory Bin

Confession: I always thought split side sensory tables were a waste of space! When I would see classrooms with these, I couldn't help but wonder how the children had enough space to play on either side. I always opted for the larger single bin tables in my own classrooms and at home as well. Today I am a changed woman! I have seen the light! Or at least the occasional use for a slit side setup in your sensory table. Why?

• because siblings and friends don't always want to play together in the same space (let us all recall the aftermath of the 3 Beans Fight of 2019...oy, I shudder when I think of stepping upon another lentil...)
• because sometimes you have a small amount of a particular sensory play material
• because sometimes you do want more than one type of filler out but you don't want them to necessarily intermingle (or at least right away)

All of these factors played into my desire to set up a split side sensory table this week using kinetic sand and kinetic rock for a simple but playful Digging in the Dirt bin. I had only a small amount of each material and could already foresee the challenges of S and Y both trying to play with one at the very same time in the large basin of our sensory table. I also only have that larger sensory table. So when it came to setting up a split side activity, I got creative on a shoestring budget and used some clear 5.5Qt Sterilite file boxes I have at home. These are inexpensively found in office supply stores or the office supply aisle of Walmart. They are great for tabletop or traveling messy play and work amazingly on top of the light table for this purpose as well. I've used them to transport sensory play activities to the nature based playgroup I run during the spring and summer months and, um, I guess you can use them for file storage, too! The final benefit to these is the snap on lid--great for easy travel and also for closing up shop in between play sessions (especially for materials that may dry out).

I kept our setup very simple. The kinetic sand had a collection of plastic cars (I love these since they are dishwasher safe and easy to clean) and the kinetic rock had a set of construction themed toys that actually came all together (an impulse buy from Toys r'Us when they were going out of business last year).

The boys played so nicely side by side and we even took the bins outside to play on a whim after their nap one evening. Boy was it ever easy to snap and go with these little boxes as opposed to shlepping the whole sensory table out front alongside two eager little construction workers underfoot! And if you don't have a sensory table at all or the space for one, I can't recommend these little file boxes enough. They stack away neatly (even under a bed) and can also store your sensory materials in between use. In a classroom or home setup, it can be a real lifesaver to have a few of these ready to grab and go on an unexpected rainy day.

What about mixing of materials? It happens. S actually asked if he could mix the two together and I explained that once they were mixed you couldn't unmix them. I am, however, thinking a little science experiment at the very end of our go with this might be fun since a little bit of mixing is kind of inevitable and kinetic rock sand might just catch on!

I love that we do have the space here (albeit limited) to keep sensory play a part of our daily routine. I also find that I am constantly striving to reinvent the wheel and get more and more creative and elaborate with my table setups. It helps to remember that simple is still fun and that less is often more. If a setup does need more, trust me, your little players will let you know! S usually asks before adding things in. Y is a little sneakier. For little construction work lovers, a transportation theme or a community helpers theme, a small collection of cars and trucks really inside of some play sand, dough, dirt, dried beans or rice, coffee grounds or gravel really is enough to encourage and spark meaningful play. Whether you're digging inside, outdoors or on the go, it's a pretty safe guarantee that you're little ones will be happy playing!

A Peek Inside Our Playroom: Fire Station Dramatic Play Center

Remember that time I was supposed to be making soup and omelettes for dinner but instead I was transforming our living room into a firehouse? Good think my husband, an amazing (and slightly more on-task) cook, had made a huge pot of vegetarian chili the night before. So we had leftovers for dinner and a great evening playing and learning in our new Fire Station Dramatic Play Center.

Yes, setting up new dramatic play themes is time and labor intensive. There is the cleaning up and storing of previous setups, the gathering, organizing and preparing of new materials and ideas and then the actual execution of setup. It usually takes me a few hours and sometimes multiple installments if that can't happen in one time-slot. I have also picked up a few time-saving tricks great for the home and classroom and seen incredible benefits of these playroom transformations in both of my boys.

Both S and Y have gained so much in their symbolic play skills through engaging in our recent playroom themes. Y has picked up an enormous amount of language and vocabulary. (How many 22 month olds do you know who know the word Zamboni?) S has greatly increased his ability to talk through characters and expand on our play-themes in his own imagination (rather than through adult directed suggestions).

And here are some time and sanity saving strategies:

• Pack and store theme related materials together in 2 gallon ziplock bags so they can be pulled out and easily accessed when we're ready to use them again
• Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. When you transition themes, try to do so in a way that allows you to keep some materials from the previous theme out. For one thing, this is less shocking to your young audience than a complete playroom overhaul. It also allows them to expand on the previous theme and their own critical thinking skills. And, lastly, it's just easier for you! Having a couple of firehouse dogs and some accessories to care for them helped ease the transition from Vet & Pet Center to Fire Station. out our doctor tools and costume props also incorporated the idea that sometimes firefighters do medical aid and emergency relief work as well, an all encompassing way to play about community helpers (which is also the theme in S's preschool curriculum right now).
• Less is more! Introduce new props and activities incrementally. When I started doing these more elaborate setups, I felt I had to have everything out and ready at the get-go. This was overwhelming for me and by the time our play theme had run its course, there would be things the boys had never discovered or played with. Now I do a basic setup initially and gradually add in new things over the course of the days and weeks to come. This expands the shelf-life of my boys' interest in the play-theme and also spares my energy level! Sometimes setting up right before Shabbos is helpful because anything that is muktzah (not permissible to use on Shabbos) gets set out afterward, allowing the boys to explore the bare bones first. Even though I set this up in the middle of the week, I followed the same concept. Activities and materials related to writing were set aside for later. We ordered a pop-up fire truck that didn't arrive until right before Shabbos. And watching the boys explore and engage in play helped me to know what we needed to add in or shift around.

And now, without further ado, come on in and take a peek inside our playroom!

A basket is stocked with fire extinguishers (made from labeled dollar store spray bottles) and hoses (recycled medical equipment, you can also use plastic tubing from your hardware or pet supply store or even recycled cardboard tubes). A bucket and some cones are also available as well as a basket of "fire" (silk scarves in shades of red, yellow and orange for building and setting up fires).

Costumes, our kitchen and housekeeping area and an emergency response center, ready for action...

The Emergency Response Center is stocked with firefighter costumes, helmets, boots (the boys' rainboots), walkie talkies and phones (dollar tree calculators) and a "computer" (cash register) as well as a few items for writing down important notes. More specific writing materials and props would be added later on... Our drawers also store some pet food for the firehouse pups and some pots, pans and dishes for cooking up snacks for hungry firefighters.

Our shelves are stocked with tools, flashlights, gloves and goggles, sponges and medical equipment. A firefighter does a lot more in a day's work than just fight fires! 

Costume lover!

S had the idea to build a firetruck using the chairs. He steered it with his helmet as he responded to emergencies including a "broken smoke detector," a "burning pizza," and more!

Firefighters also use tools for building and handling emergency situations. S decided to build a house using wood scraps from our STEAM Cart and tools.

Whatever the reason or time of day...

Y and S are on their way!

For more ideas on playing about community helpers and firefighters/fire safety, check out these old posts:

• Firefighters Theme
• Community Helpers Theme

*Many of the printed items and inspiration for this setup came from the Fire Station Dramatic Play set by Pocket of Preschool.

We'll see you next time and until then...

Happy Playing!

A Peek Inside Our Playroom: Welcome to Our Vet & Pet Center!

We did it again and revamped our dramatic play theme here! Our Ice Skating Rink was so much fun but the boys had begun to slow down with their play about it. I could tell it was time for a change, and even though I had not initially planned to switch things over until after the Winter Break, I decided this was the perfect time to shift the scene. We're home anyway, might as well have something to keep everyone busy and engaged. We are still enjoying our Winter Story Stretchers (and will be back with more in the days to come), but today I want to take you on a little tour of our new Vet & Pet Dramatic Play Center!

Some of our resident pets...
Cutting up recycled magazines or catalogs
can be a great way to make "shavings" for tanks and
cages. Even recycled cardboard tubes or collected
rocks and stones make great accessories and
recycled containers can make great food dishes

Ok, to be totally honest, we're not exactly "pet people" here. We just said so long to the last of our pet goldfish, may it rest in peace, whatever its name was... We love the idea of having a fish or something similar to teach a little bit about caring for another living being and the responsibilities that go along with it. The boys do love looking at the fish and we will likely get a new fish pretty soon. The boys love visiting zoos, farms and even pet stores to see animals. S is rather afraid of dogs and cats outside, but is equally curious about them. He and Y both love playing doctor and having a veterinary center in our play area seemed like a good combo!

I had some help and inspiration from these great resources by Pocket of Preschool:

• Pet Vet Animal Hospital Dramatic Play Set
• Pet Store Dramatic Play Set
• Pets Math & Literacy Centers

I love using credits and taking advantage of sales on teacherspayteachers.com to support other educators while saving myself some time and energy here as I set up play and learning experiences. You certainly don't need these materials to set up your own Vet & Pet Dramatic Play center at home or in your classroom, but it's a great way to gain ideas, inspiration, supplemental activities and a variety of great printable resources to encourage reading, writing, math and organization.

A closer peek at our play area

In addition to the above resources, I included the following in our Vet & Pet Center:

• plush and plastic toy animals such as fish, turtles, frogs, lizards, dogs, cats, snakes, spiders, rabbits, mice, birds, etc.
• plastic shoeboxes and a critter cage we had at home for pet cages/tanks
• recycled catalogs for cutting "shavings" for the bottom of pet tanks (and now my boys will NEVER see the Amazon toy catalog! Phew!)
• rocks, sea glass, gravel, stones and mosaic tiles we had for our "fish" tank
• toy doctor tools
• a real stethoscope
• a scale (we have a kids' scale from Learning Resources, but you can make a pretend one from cardboard, use a bathroom scale or even a food/kitchen scale)
• a toy pet carrier we got as a Chanukah gift, but you can make one from a cardboard box or recycled shoe box
• recycled containers with lids and empty pill containers with labels covered/removed for pretend food and medicine
• I bought some food dishes, brushes, leashes, and collars from The Dollar Tree
• Scrubs/lab coat we had in our dress up bin (both purchased secondhand from a thrift store)
• toy cash register, toy money, toy walkie talkies
• towel, sponges, empty spray bottle, toy scissors, brushes for the grooming station (and even a hose on our toy kitchen sink made from recycled durable medical equipment)
• pencils, pens, clip boards, dry erase markers, notepads, receipt book and printed appointment reminder cards I made for writing
• crepe paper for making bandages, bandaids, cotton swabs, large wooden craft sticks for tongue depressors, toothbrushes, cotton balls, disposable gloves and pipettes for medicine droppers (I raided our medicine closet and craft supplies)
• pompoms for "food" and a scoop--I store these loose in one of our drawers for easy access and the boys bring over containers and food dishes to fill
• books about pets from our local library
• a couple of dollar store calendars with great photos of pets
• transparency paper for printing pet x-rays and light table (optional)

You don't need all of this! You can use what you have and what you can easily and inexpensively get. The only new items I bought were all from the Dollar Tree pet aisle and everything else we already had or it came from my recycling bin.

I love incorporating writing opportunities into our dramatic play, particularly for my early writer. The printable appointment book and groomer check list from the resources listed above are great for this. I also made appointment reminder cards and stuck a blank receipt book and sticky note pad to our toy cash register with double sided tape There's even a role of stickers, because if we like getting a sticker after a check up or hair cut, probably our toy pets will, too! In addition, peeling and sticking stickers and using pens and pencils for doodling are ways that Y can work on the fine motor skills necessary for writing when he's older.

We included a waiting room area and small pet store in our Vet & Pet Center. A plastic lap desk makes for the perfect exam table or grooming table. Some collected supplies from our actual medicine cabinet (like bandaids, cotton balls and swabs, and disposable gloves are a fun and realistic addition for our veterinarians on staff. Crepe paper rolls are perfect for cutting or tearing bandages. We happened to be out of white, so green it is! The boys were especially fascinated by using our light panel to view the "real" x-rays I printed onto transparency paper from the vet dramatic play set I linked at the top of the post. You can probably find images for free and even regular printer paper is generally thin enough to make a great x-ray--especially if you use the cheaper quality!

Well, I am dog tired after setting this all up! I think it will keep us busy at play here for a while. We will be back later this week with more winter themed story stretcher fun and a great multi-day process art activity that is fun for the whole family! Until then...

Happy Playing!

Community Helpers Theme: The Baker, The Chef, and The Mashgiach

Our final exploration of Community Helpers took us to the kitchen, the playroom, and beyond as we learned about occupations involving food! My son is currently very into playdough activities, so this invitation to make cupcakes (left) was a definite favorite. I included playdough, some baking tools, some small parts (foam beads and pompoms) for decorating and "birthday candles" (straws). Baking is a favorite activity of my son's (although he's not always a fan of eating what we bake together). One of his favorite toys to play with is this wooden Melissa & Doug cookie set (below). We got ours off Amazon when there was a flash sale.



We used that along with some plastic coins props to go along with this cute action rhyme:

Five Little Cookies
There were five little cookies in the bakery shop
Freshly baked with frosting on top
Along came [insert child's name] with a nickel to pay
He/she took one cookie and went on his way!
Now there are four....
(...and continue on down to one)

This baking-themed science experiment that we did earlier in our unit helped show how yeast works. You can read all about it (and other community helpers themed science activities) here.

Part of learning about occupations related to food and its preparation also included talking about a very important Jewish community helper: the mashgiach. A mashgiach oversees the food preparation in factories, restaurants and other public venues to ensure that it is prepared according to the laws of kashrut. We help our son learn about keeping kosher naturally as we are eating and cooking together. He learns about how we eat only kosher foods and that we eat meat and dairy on separate dishes and at separate times. He learns to check eggs when we are baking together to make sure there are no blood spots that may render them unkosher and to wash produce carefully in order to eliminate any bugs. Grocery shopping is also an adventure in learning about kashrut as we look together for kosher symbols on packages of processed food items.

He plays frequently about cooking and shopping in his kitchen dramatic play area, so we brought out a fun Shopping for Shabbos game since we happened to get to this theme on a Friday. I prepared a shopping list ahead of time and set out the play materials we would be shopping for in our pretend storefront. He got to carry the list and a pencil for checking off items as he got them. He was very busy filling up a recycled brown paper bag and his toy shopping cart! You can make an activity like this more advanced by including a number of each item you wish to buy to encourage some practice with counting. You can also delve deeper by including prices and pretend currency and even a calculator or toy register if you have one. Take it on the road for a practical field trip and provide your little helper with his/her own list of items to find and add to the cart at the real grocery store!

Sensory bins are always a favorite activity in our house. We brought back our bin of dried beans and pasta from our construction workers day and this time added some toy kitchen tools, pots and pans and empty recycled spice containers. He loved scooping, pouring, filling and shaking. Then he was ready to eat some actual lunch and take a good, long nap before joining me in the kitchen to help prepare our actual Shabbat dinner.



Well, that's a wrap to our Community Helper's unit and we've had a LOT of fun. This theme is one that will continue to follow us in dialogue and in action as we go about our normal family routines. The dramatic play aspect of it was a great segue into the sub-themes of Purim, a topic we are playing and learning about heavily as the holiday draws near. Join us next time for a peek at what we're doing to get ready and until then...

Happy Playing!

Community Helpers: Being a "Family Helper"

Bathing baby was so much fun--this baby got about
a dozen baths in one afternoon!

BWhenever I teach a Community Helpers theme in the classroom, I take at least a day to talk about being helpers in our community. That ranges from how children can help (right now!) in our classroom, to their homes, to the community at large. It can be so much fun to imagine a time when they are grown up enough to go to work in the occupation of their dreams--and yet it can feel so big and far away. Many of my students were also at an age in which they are fascinated by superheroes. We would take a morning to create a puppet and story of each of them as their very own version of a superhero. A would allow them into their fantasy world in which they can have incredible powers and do incredible things--and then I would welcome them back into our classroom world in which they already have incredible power to do incredible things. We would talk about being a good friend, a helpful member of the class, a helper in their homes and in our community. So many of our community helpers truly are super people doing super things in our neighborhood.
For the sake of a homeschool scenario, I wanted a play and learning opportunity to focus on how my son is a family helper in our home. He is at the age and stage where he loves to help! He likes to help in the kitchen, help with washing the table, help with sweeping and mopping, help when his Tatty is using tools for something. He is curious about how so many things in this world work. Sometimes his curiosity manifests as anxiety. Machines and things that make noise in particular are a little frightening to him. He feels less worried and more in control when we explain that something is "safe" (as opposed to "not scary" when he adamantly feels it is), and when he gains an understanding of how it works, what it does, and why. Animals that can move independently of him into his space are rather frightening to him, so we visit parks and zoos and farms and pet shops. Babies or other children crying also seems to worry him, so we talk about ways to help in those times. On the one hand, seeing a peer cry is a reminder to him that emotions are all OK and always fleeting. His friend is "sad" right now, but the sadness will pass. With babies, it is a bit more complicated. Cries do not always mean "sad," and that is a world he does not remember! He loves to play with baby dolls at home, particularly feeding them, putting them to sleep, pushing them in a stroller and bathing them. For our Family Helper day, I set up a dramatic play activity to do all of the above plus more. He loved it--and who knows, these skills may just come in handy soon enough!

Play is a great way for our children to work through anxieties, to develop social and problem solving skills and to gain a sense of control and understanding about their environment at large. In that merit, happy playing!

Along with our babies, I set out blankets, board books, baby toys and rattles, bottles and toy dishes for feeding. Our diapering station (comprised of a plastic lap desk!) was stocked with actual diapers (a travel pack from the Dollar Tree), old baby wash cloths we still had from my son's infant days, doll clothes and baby wipes. If you prefer not to open the can of worms that is allowing a toddler access to his own baby wipes, you may prefer to use fabric or wash cloths and even to use or make your own doll cloth diapers.

Our bathing and feeding station all ready to go (minus the soap and water at this point). On a nice day, this would even be a great activity to take outside for some waterplay! It is also one of our favorite bath time activities at home, and almost a surefire way to get my toddler in the tub on the rare occasion that he is not wanting to take a bath. I just filled our basin with a shallow layer of warm water and dish soap and provided plastic toys, wash cloths and towels. 

Diapered and ready to go! 

This baby is drying off from one of her dozen baths of the day and about to enjoy another book! 

Community Helpers Theme: Construction Workers and Vehicles

One of the best days of our year so far was
when we came home to find this in our apartment
complex parking lot!

 My son loves all things related to construction. Trucks, diggers, dirt, hard hats, shovels, tools, rocks--it's his best version of a playground. I can remember early last summer driving a ridiculously long distance to get to a far out branch of our library that is known for having an amazing children's play area. Just as we pulled into the lot, we passed a huge construction site full of dirt, piles of rocks and huge excavators. When we got inside the library and into that amazing children's area, my son started throwing a colossal fit; he wanted to go back to the parking lot to see the "big diggers!"
Well, we definitely needed to include construction workers and vehicles into our Community Helpers theme! As it is already a play theme he loves, we have a lot of related toys, books and activities here. To add some novelty to the topic today, we included some new books checked out from the library and some play activities to go along with them.

Our Construction Worker Puppet is ready
for a great day at Homeschool!

My son loves the board book series by Steve Light. Diggers Go has become a new favorite! He was equally excited to find our construction worker puppet and a copy of I Drive a Backhoe by Sarah Bridges and illustrated by Amy Bailey Muelenhardt in his school bag this morning.

If your little ones like construction vehicles, this is the book for you!

 It was a rather rainy day outside, so rather than digging around in the dirt and rocks outdoors, we found ways to play about construction workers inside!

All set up for some construction themed dramatic play plus an invitation to play with playdough and toy tools!

Tools and playdough were a match made in heaven!

He especially has enjoyed our construction site small world sensory bin. I used dried beans and pasta we've had on hand (spoiler alert, they will be reappearing in our Baker/Chef Day theme!) and added some toy construction workers, vehicles, scoops and dishes to fill and even some mini-eraser tools I found at our Dollar Tree. He added the big excavator!

He also had a lot of fun working on and in this cardboard Car Shop I found at the Dollar Tree. It came with stickers he enjoyed using to decorate and I added in some little toy people, he aforementioned mini-eraser tools and some cars! He LOVED it--a dollar well spent!

Car Shop

We've got a couple of Community Helpers left to learn about that will have us busy in the kitchen and at play--plus a day of exploring how we are helpers in our own home and family. Until then...

Happy Playing!

Community Helpers Theme: Teachers & Librarians

With some of our favorite school themed books and toys as well as an opportunity to decorate a cover page to the ABC book we've been compiling over the past several month, we were ready to begin a day of learning about two of our favorite community helpers: teachers and librarians!

It was time to kick off our teacher and librarian day here as we progress through our Community Helpers Theme. We've taken my son to the library from before he was even old enough to stay awake for a Curious George book (pictured left)! With a Mommy who teaches preschoolers and a Tatty who teaches college students, it is unlikely he will grow up with any questions about what teachers and librarians do. Our Teachers and Librarians day was, therefore, a great day to set up some fun play centers with activities to review some of librarians' and teachers' favorite topics: letters, numbers, colors and shapes!

We've been learning letters through multi-sensory exposure since the beginning of last summer. Whenever we did a project to go with a particular letter, I've saved it in sheet protectors a binder. Today my little guy used letter stamps, stickers and markers to decorate his own cover page (above) and now I've set our book-in-progress out on his bookshelf so he can access it anytime to go through the letters he already knows.

busy at work!

We are big fans of dry erase markers here! He has had a lot of fun doodling in this book about colors and shapes we found at the Dollar Tree, erasing it and doodling again!

We managed to coincidentally sync up again with our Mommy & Me playgroup that is also covering Community Helpers this session. They had Teacher day on the same day we did and my son LOVED this laminated shape page with playdough. He spent a long time naming his shapes and smooshing playdough over top!

He was literally dancing he was so excited by these felt letters, numbers, and shapes from Target's Dollar Deals section. Does the "R" and "N" mean he wants to be a registered nurse when he grows up??

We LOVE letter magnets here. I usually set out only one letter at a time as we learn our alphabet letters, but this time I set out all of the letters and was amazed at how many he knew/remembered!

This chalkboard contact paper makes a great vertical work station. He dictated a story about drawing our house, a shul "for Hashem" and a rabbi inside the shul!

I combined a felt number card set (also from Target) and some school-themed mini erasers for this one-to-one correspondence math activity.

He LOVED it!

At the end of our day, he grabbed his basket of felt letters, shapes and numbers and announced "I'm going to school! Bye bye!" That's either a homeschool success or failure, I'm not sure I've decided which! 😋

We finished our play-based day of learning about teachers and librarians with a fun waterplay activity in the bathtub I call "Alphabet Soup!" We'll be back next time with some fun and hands-on exploration of Construction Workers, tools and trucks! Until then...

He couldn't even wait to get undressed and for the tub to fill up before testing out our Alphabet Soup activity!

Happy Playing!