Enjoy this collection of sand play ideas – great sensory play activities for indoors or outdoors.

Enjoy this collection of sand play ideas – great sensory play activities for indoors or outdoors.
Do your children like to create and play with small worlds? My girls always have one or two landscapes on the go at any one time. Today B made a fairy garden in the sand pit which she declared ‘the sweetest thing I’ve ever made’ – so I had to show it to you. It’s lovely, and also a good reminder that the simplest of ‘loose parts’ and a child’s imagination can combine to create great things.
Sandcastle messy play with a homemade cloud dough recipe is perfect for summer days when you can’t get to the real beach – or when you want a relaxing sensory playtime in the shade of your own home.
Here’s the recipe:
Here’s a really simple and fun mud kitchen play idea: use chalk!
Wondering how to get started with loose parts play? Maybe you want to explain the benefits of loose parts play to parents? Use this guide and printable poster to share the magic of loose parts!
Do you have a witching hour around 4pm when children are tired and grumpy after a busy day? One thing that works really well at this time of day is some sensory play – play dough, clay, sand, water. Sensory play is really good when you have a mix of different ages involved as everyone can play how they want to. There’s no ‘right’ way to do it, so it avoids children getting frustrated because the activity is too tricky or doesn’t work out how they planned. And the very nature of touchy-feely play has a therapeutic effect.
Last night after school B was playing with sand, water and pebbles and created some Sand Pictures. All her own idea, she was keen to show them off – hope you like them. Here’s the technique she discovered: first draw a design on a pebble or other surface using a little water. She used a teapot of water and a teaspoon but a paintbrush would be good too.
Then sprinkle sand over the wet drawing.
Shake off the excess and watch your masterpiece appear. B liked the temporary nature of the pictures and was happy to keep creating more designs. (We also got to chat about evaporation – never harms to sneak in a little science ;))
You might think getting out some messy play towards the end of the day is too much hassle but try it outside or start with something not too messy and see if it helps with the witching hour.
happily shared with Tot Tuesdays and Childhood 101 and mama smiles’ Learning Laboratory