Sensory tables/bins?

[sunnydays]

For those of you with water tables, how do you keep them from putting their mouths in the water? I have one, but have stopped using it because it just becomes a big germ sharing activites with them all drinking from it and dipping their runny noses in it...yuck!

[Momof4]

For those of you with water tables, how do you keep them from putting their mouths in the water? I have one, but have stopped using it because it just becomes a big germ sharing activites with them all drinking from it and dipping their runny noses in it...yuck!

I give the children cups, pails and shovels, marbles, all kinds of things to put in our water table, but it's outside. I've never had a problem with anyone trying to drink the water out there, but I stress that it is dirty water and they see that for themselves quite quickly because they always get the dirt and gravel in there and then we have a mud table. I empty mine and refill it every day we use it for safety and sanitary reasons. It's a snow table in winter too, if we could just get some snow!

Can you give everybody a big drink before you go outside and talk to them about clean drinks and water that is for hands but not for their mouth?