Sand and water table is now a mud table

So, we just got a sand and water table and today was the first time they played with it. They had a great time and it was fun watching them, but, it's all wet, soggy sand now on both sides. I drained the water as best as I could and left the cover off for now, I will go put it back on for the night in a moment. I'm glad at least that the sand is cheap.
Any tips? Also, what do you all do if you have them play with it in the middle of the day? Take their clothes off? They got totally wet and sandy, which I didn't mind as it was before dinner, so I could strip them for dinner (it was pasta night anyway) and put them right in the tub. But if it had been earlier in the day, I would have had to change their clothes.

 

:rotflmbo: I posted about this a few weeks ago!! :rotflmbo: I decided it was EITHER a sand table OR a water table..... much cleaner fun. I actually just let them have water and sand for the last couple of days and I keep the vacuum out and put them in swim diapers and let em' RIP!

When they have successfully dumped all the sand (they will) just turn it into water play for a few days!! I still like it and they have a good time too!! :hug99:

 

I let them use the sand and water, but it does get messy. They get stripped at the front door before going back inside. Ours has a drain on the water side. Our problem is more putting the sand in the water side than vice versa, so usually I jus drain as much water as I can out and let the sand dry (with the cover on) and then scoop the sand back over to the sand side. We keep ours in the driveway near the drain.

 

QUOTE(~* dfaut *~ @ Jun 10 2007, 01:36 AM) [snapback]286353[/snapback]
I decided it was EITHER a sand table OR a water table..... much cleaner fun.



Ditto here. My boys are a bit too young for the sand experience (I spend most our time at the park fishing rocks out of their mouths ), so ours is strictly a water table this year. We just got it a few weeks ago and it has been a huge hit.

 

Ours is now strictly a water table, since it is warm. When it cools off again, we will make it a sand table.

Ours is in the backyard. When the kids are done, I just lay down a towel by our back door, set them on the towel, strip them down, and send them off streaking through the house. Yes, it is a pain to get them all dressed again, but it is worth it! (With sand in it, they have to be hosed down first!)

 

QUOTE(twoin2005 @ Jun 9 2007, 11:38 PM) [snapback]286489[/snapback]
Ours is now strictly a water table, since it is warm. When it cools off again, we will make it a sand table.


ditto!

i usually get them into swim suits (rash guards so it's like shorts and t shirts in terms of coverage) before they play with it. if it's just before dinner, like you said, i'll just let them get wet and then change them into pjs or something for dinner, but any other time of day we get into suits and then change when we come back in. if it's warm out i also put on the sprinkler and they get lots of fun water time!

 

Thanks for posting this. I haven't set our sand and water table up yet but some good stuff here to think about. B)

 

Ours is stictly a sand table. We do have a small water table that gramie gave them and every so often they will walk with a cup of sand over to the water table and dump some sand in it.