Bring useful supplies with you as you and your child head off to the sandbox. Old cups, spoons, measuring spoons and a plastic tea set are a big plus for the sandbox. Purchase sand toys like a shovel and pail. As the child fills the cup and empties the cup, encourage your child to learn about capacity (full and empty) and measuring. Putting sand in the bucket or cup improves manipulative skills for small hands.
Pour water in the sand from a bottle or water fountain and help your child make shapes with different reusable materials brought from home like small boxes or cartons. You can also bring along cookie cutters to make shapes. Discuss the different shapes you can make and the differences between wet and dry sand. Not only is your child learning about shapes, but he is also learning about science. Use water to show kids how erosion works by making streams or lakes in the sand and pouring water in. Your child will enjoy making her own worlds. Environmental awareness can start in the sand box.
Play with other children at a public park sandbox or invite a group to share your sandbox. Sharing toys with other children in the sandbox can lead to lifelong friendships. By playing with others in the sand, kids learn to share as well as to negotiate who will get the sand toy next. They learn how to resolve conflict when someone throws sand or is being unfair by not sharing.
Make a sand comb out of a piece of cardboard to use in the sand to teach your child how to make patterns, or bring along small cars and trucks to make marks in the sand. You can also start teaching the ABC’s by writing the letters in sand with a stick.
Bring along small dinosaurs, pirates, cars, ships, farm animals and toy people to inspire your child’s imagination. Creative sand play with small toys can let your child build a world of their own based on their own imagination.