Build a Water Table for Kids

By The Mother Earth News Editors
Published on August 1, 1994
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Properly built, a water table for kids is big enough to let your youngster splash around in the shallows but small enough that they can't wad into it.
Properly built, a water table for kids is big enough to let your youngster splash around in the shallows but small enough that they can't wad into it.
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Diagrams show parts, dimensions, and assembly method of water table. 
Diagrams show parts, dimensions, and assembly method of water table. 
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Diagram shows the necessary cuts to make in a sheet of plywood for the water table. 
Diagram shows the necessary cuts to make in a sheet of plywood for the water table. 
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Diagram shows method of securing the water table's corners.
Diagram shows method of securing the water table's corners.

If you’ve visited a kindergarten recently, you may have seen children playing in an indoor water table: a sturdy
work table with a low rim around the perimeter to hold a
very shallow pool of water. And they love it, but at an indoor table they must exercise enough self-discipline to create quiet little water worlds and not a big wet mess; either that, or they need an adult there the whole time making sure things don’t get out of hand.

An outdoor table allows for more rambunctious play, not to mention a less complicated design; indoor tables are typically built kid-waist high and require a rigid frame and legs. The water can also be a
little deeper. Accordingly, the plans that follow are for an outdoor water table for kids. You’ll
save time, trouble and weight (filled with sand or gravel,

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