Spring is here, and it is time to break out those water tables! As a Step2 Ambassador I receive products free of charge. All opinions are my own.
It’s that time of the year again. Time to open the windows, step outside, and have some fun in the sun! It is Autism Awareness month, and I want to talk about the importance of sensory play. Sensory activities are very beneficial to early childhood development in general, but for Autistic children they are absolutely crucial. We have tested out a lot of toys over the years, and my tried-and-true favorite for immersive sensory play is the water table. Why? Besides being super fun, they really are amazing developmental tools!
My newest favorite is the Spill & Splash Seaway Water Table from Step2. I love that it has 2 different “tubs” for play, and it comes with a variety of great accessories as well as a shade umbrella! The two levels are fantastic if you are using it as a sensory table because you can fill them each with different mediums, and there are multiple access points that are slightly different from each other, so children don’t get bored standing in the same spot. Plus, if you have two kids they can each use their own tub!
Ways you can encourage sensory play with a water table:
- Fill it up with beans of different colors. Ask children to find things in the beans, sort by color, or scoop, dump, pour them into different containers. This uses fine motor skills, tactile sensations, sound, and also encourages cognitive development.
- Fill it with sand. Hide items in the sand.
- Fill with multi colored foam pieces. Hide small toys in it, sort by shape, sort by color.
- Fill with water and use a collection of cups, bowls, colanders, and more to move the water from place to place.
Now, let’s talk about specifically why I love the Spill & Splash Seaway Water Table. In addition to having a therapeutic use, it is fabulous at holding kids attention and keeping them away from screens! When we first got it, both my littles played with it for what was probably an hour straight, which is amazing since I normally have a difficult time getting them to settle on anything. We have had it almost a month now, and they play with it every.single.day. It holds over 5 gallons between the two tubs and comes with a load of great accessories like water squirters, scoops, cups, a springing “diving board”, a sifter, and more!
Height-wise I would say it is best for children 3 and under, which is perfect for Kaia, but my 5 year old still has a blast with it even though he is a little taller. Overall, it is an amazing toy that has use in both recreational play and therapeutic development, and I love that! You can find the Spill & Splash Seaway Water Table for $69.99 over at Step2.com.
