Pre-K Activities for a Water Table

Preschoolers spend their days exploring and discovering the world around them. Active learning is important as this age group develops motor skills and learns the fundamentals of school subjects. Water tables are shallow tubs containing water, sand or any other loose materials that are raised to table height. Preschoolers use water tables to test the reaction of materials without making messes.

Sink or Float

Here is an activity that combines gross motor skills with predicting outcomes. Students begin by making boats. Provide each student with a piece of aluminum foil cut into an 8x8-inch square and a half-pint recycled milk carton. The milk carton is used to mold the boat and then is discarded, so not every student has to have his own carton. Situate the milk carton on its side and center on the aluminum foil. Bring the foil up around the carton and mold into the sides of the boat. Roll or fold the foil down so the sides measure 1 to 1 inches in height. Take the carton out of your boat to begin the experiment. Ask the preschool students if the boat will float on the water. Have a selection of small objects, such as dried beans, clothes pins or pencil erasers. Ask the students how many of each object it will take to sink their boats. Continue by testing each object until the boats are sunk.

Wave Pool

Students learn about basic science and develop their fine motor skills in this water experiment. Using the water table, the preschool students will learn how water reacts to various objects. For the first experiment, give everyone a drinking straw and ask them to blow over the water to create a ripple or wave. Have a few solid items, such as stones or marbles, and let the preschoolers drop each one to create ripples. Spray water using a spray bottle over the water table's surface. Use a medicine dropper to drop water that is dyed with food coloring into the water. Before each method, ask students what they think will happen and then afterward address the actual results. Then let the students experiment on their own to see who can create the smallest, biggest and longest waves.

Go Beyond Water

Water tables are not just for water play. The open bin of a water table can be used to explore all sorts of dry or wet materials. Consider beans, sand, dry pasta, cereals or pebbles for a new water-table medium. Add a small amount of water to the dry materials so the preschoolers can see the reaction. A little water mixed in with sand is perfect for molding and building mountains and castles. When you add sand to the bin, bury a set of plastic animals or toy figurines in the sand. Include craft sticks, glitter and building blocks to encourage the children to create an imaginary world. Beans, dried pasta or rice are inexpensive materials that you can add to a water table for the kids to explore food items. Toss in plastic containers, strainers, spoons and other kitchen-related tools.