JDaniel is doing what we do and saying what we say more and more each day. Earlier in the summer I got him a watering can at Target in the dollar area. He loves to water the plants along with me. My husband planted a small tree for his 6 month birthday. JDaniel loves to toddle across the yard and take care of his tree. We are trying to let him help and do big people things when he is interested.

That is the tip. Let your little ones help vacuum if they want to help push the vacuum. (Yes, it takes a lot longer.) Let them help fold clothes. JDaniel now snaps the towels to straighten them before folding them. Let them help clean the tub. I do the cleaning and he dumps water into it with a giant plastic glass to clear out the cleanser. He just started dusting yesterday. I had a dust rag out and he wanted to do it too. There are now low areas in the house that have been dusted that I probably would have missed.

I really wanted a water table this summer for JDaniel. I searched for deals. I looked at Craig’s List for used ones. I just couldn’t bring myself to pay the price at the store or wasn’t fast enough for the Craig’s List deals. Finally I settled on using a plastic tub I already had and put some sand toys, kitchen utensils, a fancy straw to blow bubbles with and a water bottle with it. JDaniel loves to play with it outside on nice days and in the kitchen on rainy days.

This play idea is portable and can easily be used inside and out. We have used it out on our deck and in the kitchen on the floor.  It could easily be placed a table top if you want to get your children off the floor.  We tended to stay on the floor so I could easily clean up the water or sand that spills out of the tub.

We have had a few accidents with the tub being knocked over. It is easy to wipe up the water though. JDaniel has taken longer to change into dry clothes then it has taken to clean this up.

This play idea has been great to pull out as I am making dinner. It has also worked well on rainy days when we need to play, but can’t get outdoors.

It is important to keep close to your young children if they are playing with water in a the tub. Even a small amount of water could be trouble for them. I try to keep my son close to me when he is playing a sensory tub. When he gets older, I will be able to work a little further away from him, but for now I will be sticking close by.