#sensorytable

One of the most popular centers we have in our classroom is our Sensory Table.  This is simply a table with a long, twelve gallon bin that rests inside of it.  The bin can be filled with all kinds of hands-on wonders, such as sand, snow, cloud dough (flour and baby oil...so fun!!), and goo (cornstarch and water...so so fun!!!!).  This week, Sensory Table is filled with uncooked rice and beans.  Not so exciting you might say.  Well throw a few dozen plastic bugs into the mix and you have a match made in heaven....according to three-year olds.

Only two people are allowed to play at Sensory Table at one time, therefore, I have two main characters in today's story.  The first character is Dimples, who was mentioned in a previous post (and just in case you're wondering, No, he has not gained an ounce of modesty.  If anything, he has become even less conservative with his body, and is still just as dimply as before).

The second character in this story shall be nicknamed T-Rex.  This little boy lives to hunt, capture, talk about, and imitate Tyrannosaurus Rex.  For instance, yesterday during circle time we were singing Old McDonald.  I sang the beginning portion: "Old McDonald had a farm. E-I-E-I-O.  With a....." (at this part I point to a specific child and they announce what kind of animal is on Old McDonald's farm, then we all make that animal noise together).  So I pointed to our main character, and he immediately shouted, "T-Rex!  With a RAWR RAWR here!  And a RAWR RAWR there!  Here a RAWWR!  There a RAWWR!  Everywhere a RAWWR RAAAAAWWWWWR!  Old McDonald had a farm E-I-E-I-OOOOOO!"  (I probably don't need to mention that he's not shy, and he does not have an "inside" voice).

And so, to get back to our Sensory Table story, here is how things played out.  Dimples and T-Rex were busy shoving their arms elbow-deep into the rice and beans when I came over to see how they were doing.  

"Miss Lisa, look out!" T-Rex said.  "The snake is going to get you!"  (In addition to enormous, plastic beetles, centipedes, flies, and spiders, there are also plastic snakes hidden throughout Sensory Table).  I was then briefed on each type of creepy-crawler and cautioned not to get close because they were all poisonous and they would kill you if you got bit.  Thanking them for the advice, I bid them happy digging and went off to make my rounds to the other centers.

Finding that things were fairly peaceful around the classroom, I returned to Sensory Table.  At first glance, everything was the same as when I had left, but then I realized that something was missing.  Every single bug, snake and spider that had been buried in the rice and beans was gone.

I was just about to open my mouth to ask Dimples and T-Rex where the bugs were when I got my answer.

"He bit me!" yelled T-Rex.

"Me too!" said Dimples.

Then both boys began to jump around and swat at their bodies.  They shook their shirts and dozens of plastic insects started to fall around my feet.  How they hid so many creatures inside their clothes, I'll never know.  Eventually, the last bug fell to the ground, and the boys (weak from sustaining so many poisonous bites) crumpled into pitiful heaps on the floor.

I could see they didn't have much time left, so I knelt down to see what I could do to help.  T-Rex warned me in a hoarse whisper to step back, but it was too late.  A fuzzy tarantula bit me on my foot.  After smashing my attacker, Dimples told me to run.