Have you ever heard about sensory bins?
Sensory bins are similar to sand and water tables found in most daycares and preschools but on a smaller, home-friendly scale. It is a shallow container that parents can fill with various objects with the intention of stimulating a child's experience. To create such a bin you use the plastic container and fill it with a base of beans, rice, water beads or kinetic sand. Kinetic sand is a product that mimics regular sand and you can purchase it or go online to find a recipe to allow you to make it. Then you decide what items to put in the bin. It might be a theme such as shells, smells with cinnamon sticks and nutmeg or outdoor objects such as pinecones and twigs.
The object is to encourage sensory play, which stimulates the senses and develops fine and gross motor skills. It looks like a good product but when I saw a recent article describing these bins my spidey sense started to tingle. I didn't think this was the way to go. It's one thing to have these sorts of products at preschool, but at home it's another thing.
I read that a parent of a two-year-old said that her child loved to get his hands dirty exploring new textures outdoors. Mom found that these bins meant that he didn't need to make a mess in an outdoor sandbox, he could play and experience textures but not get messy.
I have a number of concerns. The first is that I simply expect a child who is playing to get messy. That's part of the fun and experience.
Another is that by defining what goes in the bin the adult determines what the child will handle and experience. The child has no choice.
When I watch my grandchildren play in the backyard I see them move about and change activity and direction. They might take a pail and shovel and dig in the sand, they might take a toy truck and plow it through the sand, and then they decide to kick soccer balls. It's a constantly moving range of activities and they love it. And yes, they get dirty.
When I was writing my book But Nobody Told Me I'd Ever Have to Leave Home I took a look at the question of play.
According to The Play Video produced by the early childhood education program from Lethbridge Community College in Alberta, the actual definition is not as important as the presence of certain qualities that characterize play.
Some elements of play include: n The play is voluntary and intrinsically motivated. n It is freely chosen. n The child controls the activities.
It is pleasurable, spontaneous and enjoyable
When I look at the sensory table, I realize it has some intrinsic value for the child. It is likely fun and certainly develops fine and gross motor skills, but it is not really play. The most important component of play is that the child chooses the activity and controls it. When a sensory table has a theme and the parent has chosen the contents, it is not child-driven.
I am concerned that sensory bins will be seen as a way for parents to control and direct the play. What will happen if a child grabs their toy dump truck and puts it in the bin with the chosen objects? What if he wants to dig or dump or fill pails with the base product?
Indoors or out, kids will move around from toy to toy, sometimes spending considerable time with a toy such as building a railway from their train set and sometimes moving quickly from one toy to another. And it's their choice.
This is not to say that these bins do not have a place in the activity areas for our children, but let's not have them replace child-driven, mess-making outdoor play.
Kathy Lynn is a professional speaker and author of Vive la Différence, Who's In Charge Anyway? and But Nobody Told Me I'd Ever Have to Leave Home. To read more, sign up for her informational newsletter at parentingtoday.ca.
