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Sand can be an extremely useful resource when it comes to early years play.
Not only are there plenty of opportunities for open-ended play, but sand can help develop lots of key skills such as improving fine and gross motor skills, sensory experiences, and the opportunity for imaginative and explorative play.
With summer now in full swing, here are some sand play activity ideas to keep your children entertained.
Coloured sand bottles
Instead of throwing away used jars or plastic bottles, why not repurpose them with your toddlers using coloured sand? This fun activity can be done with ready-made coloured sand or sand coloured with chalk. It’s incredibly simple too:
- Get a variety of coloured sand.
- Pour the sand into your jar or bottle using a funnel.
- Layer the colours and vary the amount of each sand colour you use.
And just like that your children will have a decorative piece of art to bring a spot of colour to their setting!
Treasure hunt
A treasure hunt is such a simple yet effective activity to get children to put their motor skills and coordination to use. Using a sandpit or a tray, bury various trinkets such as shells, rocks, gold coins and various other loose parts that can be found as treasure. Get creative with it!
Have your child dig and rummage through the sand either with their hands, shovels, or spades in search for their treasure and see how long it takes for them to discover it all. This is a great activity for independent play and strengthening sensory development.
Sand kitchens
An alternative to a mud kitchen could be a sand kitchen. This can be a fun messy play and sensory activity which can offer hours of pretend play. Variations of sand can be used from smooshy to slinky sand to natural and coloured sand. Incorporate water for mixing and kitchen utensils for chopping, slicing, and moulding different shapes for food.
Beach tuff tray
When you can’t go to the beach, why not bring the beach to you?
You can never go wrong with a tuff tray activity as they offer plentiful amounts of fun. Have your little ones create their own beach scene using a variety of resources such as shells, sea animal figures, stones, and even include blue slinky sand to act as the sea.
Visit the for sand, water and messy play resources or look at Instagram for lots of creative inspiration.
