While reading through one of my favorite blogs, The Imagination Tree, I came across this post about using salt trays as a prewriting activity. Well, J loves practicing his writing skills lately so I figured I should give this idea a try.
Materials
- A tray - I used the lid from a decorative Christmas tin.
- Table salt - Enough to cover the surface of the tray.
Pour just enough salt into the tray to cover the bottom. Gently shake the tray to let the salt settle. I set up the salt tray on the kitchen table, but J started drawing before I was able to take a picture of the set up.
 |
| J trying out the salt tray |
As is typical of J, he spent his time drawing numbers in the salt. He started at one, but went all the way up to 100, one-by-one. Once he got to 100, he started counting by a hundred, eventually stopping at 1200 (he calls it one-twenty-zero). He also let a caterpillar toy take a turn in the salt tray. In the end, J easily spent over an hour straight playing with the salt tray.
Below is a sample of J's number writing:
 |
| Caterpillar's turn! |
K tried it out too. He made a couple of swirls in the salt and then, of course, gave it a taste.
 |
| K's turn! |
 |
| Mmmm...salty! |
Aside from all the learning that can be done using salt trays, I love how it can be altered in different ways. You could add glitter, food coloring, and/or essential oils to create a unique sensory experience every single time.