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Learning Ideas - Grades K-8: Sand Art for Kids and Adults | Sand art for kids, Sand art projects, Summer crafts for kids

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Sand Art  is a fun craft activity for very young kids all the way up to adults.   Here is a simple activity that even preschoolers can enjoy...

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I love process art. I love it in the way that some people love puppies or stamps or something like that. I really love it. I watch kids as they create and I feel like all is right in the world. Is that weird? Maybe so but who cares. My name is Meri Cherry and I love process art. Anyway, creating sand art is really fun because it can be a multi level sensory process that kids can explore over and over in all kinds of ways. Check it out.

chalk , white sand , glue, squeeze bottles (which I use for all kinds of things - glue, paint, sand, mustard) paper or canvas (here's a link to the black canvas like in the video)

Step 1

Place a handful of white sand on a tray. Rub a chalk stick all over the sand and the pigment from the chalk will begin to rub off on the sand. The more you rub the chalk, the more vibrant your sand will be. It was fun to watch the sand change colors before our eyes. If you have the round chalk, roll it back and forth over the sand. If you have the squared kind you rub it around and around in the sand. You can also use salt for this part instead of sand if you want. Flax and Twine has a beautiful tutorial that explains the process.

Step 2.

Pour the colored sand into a squeeze bottle. If you have a funnel, it makes things way easier.

Step 3.

Create your sand art. You can do this step a few different ways. You can first color your canvas directly with chalk to make it really colorful or you can just go ahead and start squeezing glue out in different sections. Squeeze some glue and then squeeze some sand on top. Knock the excess sand onto the table or tray. If you do it over a tray you can reuse any sand that didn't stick. The sand is fun to move around with a paint brush or your finger when you're done creating. Great relaxing sensory experience for kids.

We actually worked on these over two weeks. The first time we tried it doing a pencil design on the canvas first. I think that would work better for older kids. These kids needed more freedom to just explore the sand on the glue. It was very satisfying to squeeze the glue and then watch the sand easily stick on top. Once these 3 and 4 year olds learned the glue/sand technique, they were in the zone!

You can try sand art on all kinds of paper or maybe try a black canvas like in the video. Sand art would work great on a frame or a bird house. We're excited to keep experimenting with it. For more process art ideas try Salt Painting Collage or Mixed Media Collage for kids. Thanks for reading along everyone! xo Meri

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I love process art. I love it in the way that some people love puppies or stamps or something like that. I really love it. I watch kids as they create and I feel like all is right in the world. Is that weird? Maybe so but who cares.

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SAND PAINTING | Sand painting, Sand art projects, Kids art projects

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Jul 11, 2016 - Easy kids DiY Sand Paint Recipe! This you HAVE to try!!

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Since watching artists creating sand animations on a light table, I have had it in the back of my mind to try it some day. It may have taken me years to find a chance on my own, but Budster has started showing a lot of interest in drawing, so we decided to try some sand art together.

We substituted sand with cornmeal. Primarily, because I knew exactly where to buy a bag of cornmeal, and could grab it as I did other grocery shopping. Also, it just seemed a little safer to use something edible with a toddler. Budster hasn't been mouthing things for a while, but it is hard to forget the horror of having him fill his mouth with sand from his outdoor sandbox!

It has been a rather dreary, dark month, and I felt like making our art experiment colourful. It is rainbow sand art! Out of the cupboards came food colouring and plastic bags. I put half a cup of cornmeal into a plastic bag, added a few drops of gel food colouring, and then squished it between my fingers to distribute the colours. It was surprisingly relaxing, and Budster helped too, so our sensory play began early.

We left the cornmeal to dry for a while, then poured all the bags out onto a cookie sheet. I could not help but try it out! Then I mixed it back, so that Budster could have a fresh canvas.

In order to start creating, I collected a few kinds of brushes for Budster around the house: a little painting brush, a silicone brush, and a big Chinese calligraphy brush. I also picked up some colourful animals. This format of art and play was very new to us, so who knows what will be handy!

Seeing a tray full of rainbow sand, Budster happily enquired, "What's that?!" and let a frog dive into it first. He drew the first line, but it was actually the frog, swimming in the sand. He let all of his animals have a chance at sand-diving, before taking a brush.

Then with a brush, Budster worked very diligently to mix the sand, creating beautiful patterns by doing so. If I could capture this stage in time, I would be happy to see it on my wall!

The art of mixing captivated us for some time. The longer Budster mixed, the more uniform the colour became. Only if you looked closer, could you still see the grains of different colours... the overall impression was just a pile of brown sand. I guess that happens when you mix too many colours!

Buddy enjoyed playing hide-and-seek with his animals in the sand for a while. Sometimes he would ask me to hide them from me and then delighted at re-discovering them by brushing the sand away.

At last, when all the sand was mixed and all the animals were found, we decided to try drawing. Budster is drawing a car here: you can see two wheels. "Big wheel!" he would explain. He drew several of such vehicles, and also a train that had four wheels. Wheels are certainly the leitmotif of his art right now.

We haven't got a light table yet, but I poured the sand into the plastic tub, propped it onto two chairs and set up an LED lamp underneath. That was our version of a very simple light table. It got darker outside, but our drawings were shining, illuminated by the lamp. Here is another car by Budster!

We made some other drawings and left out handprints in the sand. My favourite is two moons here - I drew the crescent moon, and Budster immediately wanted to add the full moon next to it, which is what you see on the right. Then he proceeded to make some stars.

It was definitely an interesting art project. Budster has been using brushes and pencils for making art for over a year, but here he enjoyed drawing with his fingers, and it was a good sensory experience for him. None of the creations were permanent, yet it was so easy to prepare the surface for new drawings, and I think it really appealed to him.

If you want to stay updated on new stories from Adventure in a Box, consider subscribing to our Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter or Instagram pages.

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Since watching artists creating sand animations on a light table, I have had it in the back of my mind to try it some day. It may have taken me years to find a chance on my own, but Budster has started showing a lot of interest in drawing, so we decided to try some sand art together.

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It's beach season, which means lots of creative sand play building castles and all kinds of cool structures. The good news is that you don't need to be near the water to have some fun with sand. And it doesn't have to be the messy kind either. Why not try making your own sand dough castles which will last longer than a fun day at the beach, or make some fantastic art with it? Glow in the dark sand, fossil art or sand painting are just some ideas to get creative with sand for some fun sensory activities for little ones!

Tide Pool Sand Art (via Buggy and Buddy) Explore the ocean and create a little fun art piece along the way with this cool multi-dimensional sand tide pool.

Sand Dough (via Make Life Lovely) The great part about making your own sand dough is that it dries hard so you can admire all that hard work for longer and you don't have to be near a beach which means sand play, any day.

Chalk and Sand Art (via Flax and Twine) Coloring sand leads to some pretty amazing and textured art kids can have fun "painting."

Sand Candles (via Meri Cherry) Making sand candles is a fun excuse to celebrate everyday and combines art and sensory play all in one cute project.

Sand Beads (via Red Ted Art) Here's a unique way to play with sand. Make jewelry beads you can wear! Painted, they actually make quite the fashion statement for little ones.

Sand Plaster Fossils (via My Kid Craft) Here's a fun craft that can yield all kinds of cool fossil shapes and is totally open to lots of fun designs and prints.

Glow in the Dark Sand (via Growing a Jeweled Rose) This neon sand is super easy to make and is just so much fun to scoop, squish and swirl around.

Sand Paint (via Learn Play Imagine) For some pretty and vibrant textured art, trying making your own sand paint. No creative direction here, just let the kids smear, dab and paint away!

For more summer time fun, see:

30 Best Outdoor Summer Games

8 Ways to Play With Ice

8 Awesome Summer Water Activities

10 Outrageously Fun Ways To Play Outdoors
7 Creative Ways to Blow Bubbles

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It's beach season, which means lots of creative sand play building castles and all kinds of cool structures. The good news is that you don't need to be near the water to have some fun with sand. And it doesn't have to be the messy kind either.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Since watching artists creating sand animations on a light table, I have had it in the back of my mind to try it some day. It may have taken me years to find a chance on my own, but Budster has started showing a lot of interest in drawing, so we decided to try some sand art together.

We substituted sand with cornmeal. Primarily, because I knew exactly where to buy a bag of cornmeal, and could grab it as I did other grocery shopping. Also, it just seemed a little safer to use something edible with a toddler. Budster hasn't been mouthing things for a while, but it is hard to forget the horror of having him fill his mouth with sand from his outdoor sandbox!

It has been a rather dreary, dark month, and I felt like making our art experiment colourful. It is rainbow sand art! Out of the cupboards came food colouring and plastic bags. I put half a cup of cornmeal into a plastic bag, added a few drops of gel food colouring, and then squished it between my fingers to distribute the colours. It was surprisingly relaxing, and Budster helped too, so our sensory play began early.

We left the cornmeal to dry for a while, then poured all the bags out onto a cookie sheet. I could not help but try it out! Then I mixed it back, so that Budster could have a fresh canvas.

In order to start creating, I collected a few kinds of brushes for Budster around the house: a little painting brush, a silicone brush, and a big Chinese calligraphy brush. I also picked up some colourful animals. This format of art and play was very new to us, so who knows what will be handy!

Seeing a tray full of rainbow sand, Budster happily enquired, "What's that?!" and let a frog dive into it first. He drew the first line, but it was actually the frog, swimming in the sand. He let all of his animals have a chance at sand-diving, before taking a brush.

Then with a brush, Budster worked very diligently to mix the sand, creating beautiful patterns by doing so. If I could capture this stage in time, I would be happy to see it on my wall!

The art of mixing captivated us for some time. The longer Budster mixed, the more uniform the colour became. Only if you looked closer, could you still see the grains of different colours... the overall impression was just a pile of brown sand. I guess that happens when you mix too many colours!

Buddy enjoyed playing hide-and-seek with his animals in the sand for a while. Sometimes he would ask me to hide them from me and then delighted at re-discovering them by brushing the sand away.

At last, when all the sand was mixed and all the animals were found, we decided to try drawing. Budster is drawing a car here: you can see two wheels. "Big wheel!" he would explain. He drew several of such vehicles, and also a train that had four wheels. Wheels are certainly the leitmotif of his art right now.

We haven't got a light table yet, but I poured the sand into the plastic tub, propped it onto two chairs and set up an LED lamp underneath. That was our version of a very simple light table. It got darker outside, but our drawings were shining, illuminated by the lamp. Here is another car by Budster!

We made some other drawings and left out handprints in the sand. My favourite is two moons here - I drew the crescent moon, and Budster immediately wanted to add the full moon next to it, which is what you see on the right. Then he proceeded to make some stars.

It was definitely an interesting art project. Budster has been using brushes and pencils for making art for over a year, but here he enjoyed drawing with his fingers, and it was a good sensory experience for him. None of the creations were permanent, yet it was so easy to prepare the surface for new drawings, and I think it really appealed to him.

If you want to stay updated on new stories from Adventure in a Box, consider subscribing to our Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter or Instagram pages.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Since watching artists creating sand animations on a light table, I have had it in the back of my mind to try it some day. It may have taken me years to find a chance on my own, but Budster has started showing a lot of interest in drawing, so we decided to try some sand art together.

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It's beach season, which means lots of creative sand play building castles and all kinds of cool structures. The good news is that you don't need to be near the water to have some fun with sand. And it doesn't have to be the messy kind either. Why not try making your own sand dough castles which will last longer than a fun day at the beach, or make some fantastic art with it? Glow in the dark sand, fossil art or sand painting are just some ideas to get creative with sand for some fun sensory activities for little ones!

Tide Pool Sand Art (via Buggy and Buddy) Explore the ocean and create a little fun art piece along the way with this cool multi-dimensional sand tide pool.

Sand Dough (via Make Life Lovely) The great part about making your own sand dough is that it dries hard so you can admire all that hard work for longer and you don't have to be near a beach which means sand play, any day.

Chalk and Sand Art (via Flax and Twine) Coloring sand leads to some pretty amazing and textured art kids can have fun "painting."

Sand Candles (via Meri Cherry) Making sand candles is a fun excuse to celebrate everyday and combines art and sensory play all in one cute project.

Sand Beads (via Red Ted Art) Here's a unique way to play with sand. Make jewelry beads you can wear! Painted, they actually make quite the fashion statement for little ones.

Sand Plaster Fossils (via My Kid Craft) Here's a fun craft that can yield all kinds of cool fossil shapes and is totally open to lots of fun designs and prints.

Glow in the Dark Sand (via Growing a Jeweled Rose) This neon sand is super easy to make and is just so much fun to scoop, squish and swirl around.

Sand Paint (via Learn Play Imagine) For some pretty and vibrant textured art, trying making your own sand paint. No creative direction here, just let the kids smear, dab and paint away!

For more summer time fun, see:

30 Best Outdoor Summer Games

8 Ways to Play With Ice

8 Awesome Summer Water Activities

10 Outrageously Fun Ways To Play Outdoors
7 Creative Ways to Blow Bubbles

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It's beach season, which means lots of creative sand play building castles and all kinds of cool structures. The good news is that you don't need to be near the water to have some fun with sand. And it doesn't have to be the messy kind either.

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You can have the children cut and make their own sandpaper art

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Building sandcastles is tough , especially if you don't live anywhere near a beach. This magnetic sandcastle activity is perfect for you no matter where you live. Not only are kids exploring the texture of the sandpaper they are exploring shapes and how they can work together to create something greater. Another side effect is the storytelling that might pop up like it did with my 4 year old. Her sandcastle was a story. If you don't have a magnetic surface pick up a cookie sheet like we did for a dollar at Dollar Tree. I buy them 3 at a time.

Gather your materials. You will need some sandpaper, self adhesive magnetic sheets ( ours came from our friends at craftprojectideas.com ), scissors, a marker, and a magnetic surface.

Start by drawing your shapes on the back of the sandpaper. Be careful thinner sand paper will show the marker through if you use a dark color like I did. A pencil may be a better choice.

Cut them out.

Add the magnets to the back. My little helper showed up at this stage wondering what I was up to and helped.

Peeling the backing off of these self adhesive magnets is RAD for little fingers still developing fine motor skills, it is also fantastic for concentration and building patience. We can't expect our kids to develop ways to deal with frustration and patience if we never give them opportunities to face them. She got frustrated a few times and I said " It's tough, Mama is having a hard time too. " that was it. If you think the frustration will block the whole activity step in but it's OK for kids to try hard things and fail.

This zig zag piece was extra but she insisted on using it so we added magnets to it together.

Time to play. She was totally into it. I liked to see how carefully she was placing the pieces. " They are rough on one side but not on the other mama!" When my children make observations like that is when I jump on and try to add a little bit more of a lesson without breaking up their exploration. If they are silent I generally let them immerse themselves completely. When a comment like that is made I might say something like what else feels rough like that? Or Do you like the feeling? Sparking more learning but using their observations as launching pad.

Her creation was a pool with diving boards for sand fairies.

Need some books to go with this activity? Check out our Beach Books round up. Click here or on the image to be taken to the full round up with complete reviews of each book.

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Magnetic Sandcastle - No Time For Flash Cards

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Building sandcastles is tough , especially if you don't live anywhere near a beach. This magnetic sandcastle activity is perfect for you no matter where you live. Not only are kids exploring the texture of the sandpaper they are exploring shapes and how they can work together to create something greater.

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STEAM activities provide opportunities for kids to explore and discover as they play. In this STEAM activity, kids experiment with everyday materials to see if they pass through, or remain in, the sifter.

Kids like to scoop up handfuls of sand at the beach, or at the classroom sand table, and watch the sand slip right through their fingers! This fun sifting activity extends the science of filtering materials in a way that kids can easily observe and discuss hands-on.
Materials:

Sifter (sometimes called a strainer)

Plastic bowls

Sand, salt, uncooked rice (or similar ingredients)

Ask: What is a sifter used for? Which materials will be able to pass through the holes of the sifter?

Hypothesis: Grains of salt and sand are small enough to pass through the sifter.

Procedure: Separate sand, salt, and rice into three small bowls, approximately 1 cup of each material.

Pour salt into the sifter and observe salt passing through the tiny holes in the mesh.

Pour sand into the sifter and shake the sifter gently.

Notice how some small particles of sand are left in the sifter.

Pour some uncooked rice into the strainer.

Observation: Salt and sand pass through the mesh filter but some small stones from the sand are left in the sifter.

Rice does not pass through the holes in the sifter.

Conclusion: The size of the holes in the sifter determines which materials will pass through the sifter. The tiny stones in the sand are not noticeable until the sand passes through the sifter.

A sifter is often used in the kitchen when baking to remove any coarse particles from flour.

A sifter with larger holes might be useful for gardening tasks, to remove stones or sticks from the soil.

STEAM integration:

Science| Sifters can be made of plastic or metal.

Technology| Shaking the sifter distributes the material evenly so more material falls through the mesh.

Engineering| The holes in the mesh may differ in size from one sifter to another.

Art| Materials used in the experiment will have different colors and textures; two or more materials may be mixed in one bowl.

Math| Materials are different sizes and shapes. The size of the material determines whether it will be sifted.

STEAM activities like this sifting experiment are easy to set up and provide exciting learning opportunities for kids. Ask open-ended questions and encourage hands-on participation as you enjoy this fun activity with your young scientist!

About the Author:
Heather is a former preschool teacher and founder of preschooltoolkit.com, a website providing early learning resources for teachers and parents. She focuses on creating fun crafts and activities that engage developmental skills while promoting hands-on learning through play. Follow her on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and Linkedin.

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STEAM activities provide opportunities for kids to explore and discover as they play. In this STEAM activity, kids experiment with everyday materials to see if they pass through, or remain in, the sifter. Kids like to scoop up handfuls of sand at the beach, or at the classroom sand table, and watch the sand slip right through their fingers!

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Affiliate and Referral links are used below to promote products I love and recommend. I receive a commission on any purchases made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details.

The beach and sand seem to be on everyone's mind. Why not make a learning experience out of the excitement of visiting the beach? Check out these 25 Sand Hands-on Activities for Kids and help little ones learn while they play this summer.

Sand Hands-On Activities for Kids

Summer and sand just go together. Whether you are traveling to the beach or are visiting your local park, you can have fun in the sand at home before you go! Enjoy sensory experiences, measuring, and kinetic sand ideas perfect for your preschoolers.

Sensory Sand Activities

Sand Foam - Paging Fun Mums

Sand and Water Ocean Sensory Bin - Mom Inspired Life

How to Make Your Own Colorful Sand - Mom. Wife. Busy Life.

Homemade Paint Recipe - Growing a Jeweled Rose

Sand Castle Puffy Paint Art - Still Playing School

Sand Play Dough With Loose Parts - Mama Papa Bubba

DIY Water and Sand Table Ideas - Lillian Hope Designs

Monster Moon Sand Invitation to Play - Nerdy Mama

DIY Sand and Rock Box - Frogs Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

Calm Down Zen Garden - Encourage Play

Edible Sand Recipe - Kids Play Box

Glow in the Dark Sand Recipe - Growing a Jeweled Rose

Homemade Moon Sand - Love and Laundry

Learning Sand Activities

Learning to alphabetize using stamps and kinetic sand - Gift of Curiosity

Underwater Magic Sand - Teaching Mama

Letter Hunt for Early Literacy - Busy Toddler

Sand Art - Krokotak
Make A River! - Picklebums

Sand Volcano for Kids - Growing a Jeweled Rose

How to Make Homemade Sand Slime Recipe for Kid Science - Little Bins for Little Hands

Easy Sand Art for Children - My Frugal Adventures

Creating Sand Dunes - Simple Play Ideas

Drawing Outside with Spring-Colored Sand - Buggy and Buddy

Sand Painting - Meri Cherry

MYO Sand Paint - Nature Art - Emma Owl

For more ideas like this one, check out my Pinterest board below and also these other blog posts.
What are some of your favorite ways to use sand for a fun, hands-on activity? Share with me below in the comments.
Follow Heather | Growing Hands-On Kids's board Homeschool Preschool Ideas on Pinterest.
You May Also Like:

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Affiliate and Referral links are used below to promote products I love and recommend. I receive a commission on any purchases made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. The beach and sand seem to be on everyone's mind. Why not make a learning experience out of the excitement of visiting the beach?

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These fun sand activities and books can be easily added to your beach or ocean theme, your summer camp curriculum, or done at home for some summer fun!

Sand Experiment 1

Materials Needed:
sand from the beach
magnifying glass or magnifying glass app
black paper
vinegar

Spread some sand on the black paper. Spread it thin enough to see individual grains of sand.

Look at the sand through the magnifying glass or the magnifying glass app on an iphone. At first glance, sand may look like it is all one color. Notice the different colors, shapes, and sizes of the sand under the magnifying glass.

North American sand consists mostly of quartz. If you notice any small, jewel-like grains of sand they are most likely pieces of broken glass that have been smoothed by the waves and sand.

Place a small pile of sand on the black paper. Drop a few drops of vinegar onto the sand and observe what happens.

If you observe tiny bubbles in the sand or bubbling and popping sounds when you add vinegar, it means the grains of sand were once part of a living being such as coral, shells, or bone. The acid of the vinegar reacts with the calcium carbonate in the grains of sand which creates CO2 bubbles as it dissolves. Here is a video of what happened when we added the vinegar to our beach sand. You can see and hear the bubbling action!

Sand Experiment 2: Creating Magic Waterproof Sand

Materials Needed:
sand
water repellent spray
container
water

In this experiment you will create "magic sand" that does not get wet when added to water! Place some sand in a container.

Spray the sand with a water repellent spray or Scotch Guard.

Shake the container and spray sand again. Repeat this process 5-6 times. Allow the sand to dry. Dry time depends on the amount of sand used.

The sand will now be waterproof!

How to Make Moon Sand

Moon sand is a fun alternative to play dough. It can be molded and shaped as desired and is great for sensory play! This link provides several easy ways to make moon sand with simple ingredients (sand and cornstarch, flour and baby oil, or cornstarch and vegetable oil). If you need to purchase play sand it can be found on Amazon or any local store such as WalMart.

Sand Dough

Can't make it to the beach? No problem! This sand dough can be molded into sand castles or just about anything young children can imagine. It's also great for tracing letters in the sand. Click here for a sand dough recipe from education.com that only requires 3 ingredients (sifted sand, cornstarch, and hot water).

Sand Play Dough

Kids love playing with sand play dough and it is easy to make!

To make sand play dough simply mix together 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of warm water, 1 Tbsp oil, and 1 cup of sand. If the dough is too dry and crumbly, add more oil and water. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour.

Place a small amount on students' desks or place it in a center along with some sea shells or beach toys.

Simple Sand Art

Every year during our end of the year carnival and during our summer camp program we would have a sand art station. The children always loved it! Making your own colored sand is simple. I would always use powdered tempera paint to color the sand, however I found this website that offers multiple ways to color your own sand. If you are in a time crunch and can't make your own colored sand it is available to purchase.

Children can make their own sand art creations by filling baby food jars or any small jar, small water bottles, or any plastic containers.

You can also have children create simple sand pictures. First they draw a simple picture. Then, they paint it with glue and sprinkle colored sand over the glue.

Sand Clay Keepsake

I found this adorable sand clay keepsake idea on The Imagination Tree!

Letter C Clam Dig

Sand can also be used for learning fun! Bury letters, shapes, numbers, etc. in the sand and have youngsters dig them up and name them. Your students or children will really "dig" this fun hands-on activity for learning the letter C! This activity can be done in your sand table, in a tub of sand, or on a cookie sheet filled with sand. Find the instructions and free printable clam pattern here.

Digging for Bones

Children love dinosaurs and they love pretending to be little paleontologists! Copy a dinosaur pattern such as the one below onto tag board or poster board.

Cut it into pieces and bury the "bones" in the sand. Give students a paintbrush and allow them to carefully dig for dinosaur bones. Once all the bones are found, put the dinosaur back together.

Another fun learning activity is to dig for "D" dog bones in the sand. Cut out some dog bones and label some with letter "D" and some with other letters of the alphabet. Bury the bones in the sand. Have the students pretend to be dogs and dig up the bones. They must d ig until they find a letter D bone. You can also make a simple dog puppet and pretend that Danny Doggy needs their help in digging up his dog bones. His bones have letter D on them.

Ocean in a Bottle or Jar

Materials Needed:
sand
seashells
water
vegetable oil or baby oil
blue food coloring
clean, empty jar with lid or clean, empty bottle with lid

When rocked back and forth, the water and oil mixture simulates waves. They make wonderful and calming sensory bottles. You have several options - you can use a bottle or a jar, you can choose from vegetable oil or baby oil. I have tried both and personally I prefer the baby oil because it is clear.

Place some sand in the bottom of the bottle or jar.

Fill it about halfway with water. Add a drop of blue food coloring (add more until desired color is reached). Drop in your seashells.

Add the oil, leaving a little room at the top for air.

Hot glue the cap on the bottle or the lid on the jar.

Lay it on its side or gently rock it back and forth and watch the waves go back and forth.
What happens to the sand and the shells when you shake it up?

Suggested Books:

Hide and Seek in the Sand: A Pull-The-Tab and Lift-The-Flap Book

Swimming in the Sand (What Next?)

Super Sand Castle Saturday

You may also like:

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Sand Science Experiments, Sand Art Projects, & Book Suggestions - Lessons for Little Ones by Tina O'Block

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These fun sand activities and books can be easily added to your beach or ocean theme, your summer camp curriculum, or done at home for some summer fun! Materials Needed: sand from the beach magnifying glass or magnifying glass app black paper vinegar Spread some sand on the black paper.

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Sand Experiment

Materials (sand, black paper, magnifying glass or microscope, vinegar )

1. Sprinkle some sand on the black paper. Try to spread it thin enough that you can see individual grains of sand.

2. Look at it through the magnifying glass.

3. Try it again with different types of sand. Use dry sand from the top of the beach, wet sand from near the water, or even sand from your sand box. Notice the different shapes, sizes and colors of the sand.

4. Put a bit of vinegar on the sand and watch what happens.

What Should Happen
At first glance, sand may look like it is all one color. When you start to look at individual grains of sand, you will see the many colors, shapes and sizes of the different grains.

Sand found in North America is mostly quartz.

Pink beaches usually get their color from tiny bits of coral and other animals.

Small, jewel like colored grains are usually bits of broken glass that has been smoothed by the sand and waves.

If some of the sand grains give off tiny bubbles when you add the vinegar, that means they were once part of a living being. They could be bits of coral, shells, or bone.

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Sand science experiment for kids - childrens experiments with beach sand

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Sand Experiment Materials (sand, black paper, magnifying glass or microscope, vinegar ) Sprinkle some sand on the black paper. Try to spread it thin enough that you can see individual grains of sand. Look at it through the magnifying glass. Try it again with different types of sand.

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3 Science experiments with sand [ homemade kinetic sand and magic sand ]

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DIY Motion Sand - Cool Science Experiment

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Kinetic Sand Dot to Dot {Fine Motor Sensory Play} | Kinetic sand, Preschool fine motor, Fine motor

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Jun 19, 2016 - Fine motor sensory play using kinetic sand that encourages writing skills

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Fine Motor Sensory Activity Using Kinetic Sand | Kinetic sand, Fine motor, Fine motor skills activities

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Jul 25, 2018 - A simple fine motor sensory activity for kids using kinetic sand

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Marble Balance Game ....  Fine motor skill activity using a tub of sand, golf tees and marbles.… | Fine motor skills activities, Motor skills activities, Fine motor

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Jan 28, 2012 - Marble Balance Game ....  Fine motor skill activity using a tub of sand, golf tees and marbles.  Children stick golf tees into sand and try to balance marbles onto top of the tees.

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Pirate treasure fine motor activity | Pirate activities, Pirate activities preschool, Fine motor activities

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Oct 11, 2013 - This Pin was discovered by Jennifer Allen. Discover (and save!) your own Pins on Pinterest

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This blog uses affiliate links. Basically, I make a small commission when you use these links, at no additional cost to you.

Looking for kinetic sand activities for kids? Then you'll definitely want to try this simple fine motor sensory activity.

Have you played with Kinetic Sand before? It is absolutely amazing stuff to play with and my boys love when I pull it out for a quick, no prep sensory activity.

We recently added some colorful dollar store cups to the kinetic sand experience with this kinetic sand activity for kids.

It was a perfect way to explore math concepts, work on fine motor skills, and encourage imaginative play.

What You'll Need for this Fine Motor Kinetic Sand Activity

This fine motor kinetic sand sensory activity is so simple and requires no prep. You just need to grab the following materials and add them to a large container of some kind.

Toddlers & Preschoolers Will Love this Kinetic Sand Activity!

Now I have to say that when you fill the tall tube shots with kinetic sand, the result ends up looking like a little poop log. Seriously. That's why I didn't share any pictures of them, except for this one.

Regardless, the cups make awesome molds for the kinetic sand. Just fill them up and then you can hold the resulting 3D shape in your hands!

The cups also work great to do some stamping. For example, you can see J making cookies here.

Cookies quickly became muffins though. Imaginative play was in full swing with this activity!

K was a master muffin maker (awesome alliteration alert!). He loved to put the "muffin" in and out of his "muffin cup."

Married to her high school sweetheart, Dyan is a Canadian stay-at-home mom to two boys, J and K. She is also a part-time piano teacher. She likes board games, video games, Instant Pots, and reading. To stay connected, subscribe to the weekly newsletter to get a copy of the free Weekly Autism Planner and follow along on social media.

Other Activities You'll Love

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Kinetic Sand & Cups Fine Motor Sensory Activity

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This blog uses affiliate links. Basically, I make a small commission when you use these links, at no additional cost to you. Looking for kinetic sand activities for kids? Then you'll definitely want to try this simple fine motor sensory activity. Have you played with Kinetic Sand before?

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27 Satisfying Kinetic Sand Activities for PreK and Elementary School | Elementary schools, Math concepts, Kindergarten activities

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Oct 27, 2019 - More fun than a day at the beach!

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Improve student handwriting skills with fine motor sensory activities.

Writing is an activity that involves many fine motor skills, and for children with handwriting struggles, holding the pen, forming letters and writing on the line are all challenges. Children with learning difficulties often struggle with writing proper spacing and letter formation. Sensory activities can help children practice and improve fine motor activities for better handwriting. As these activities feel like playtime, the children will not be aware that they are also improving their skills.

Practice Forming Letters in Sand or Salt

For children who need practice forming letters, try the following activity: Fill a tray or baking pan with sand or fine salt and ask the children to practice forming letters using their index finger. You can move on to writing whole words once the children have mastered their letter formation. This technique can also be used for forming numbers as well, and has the bonus of a quick and easy cleanup.

Choose Play Activities That Improve Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills allow children to grip a pen and write a sentence. Strengthening exercises for fine motor skills can be a fun training session. Activities such as playing with small building blocks, catching and throwing a tennis ball, using fingers to march up and down an object, or pull beads or shells onto a string to make a necklace help children strengthen and fine tune their motor skills.

Create Letters Using Objects

Show children that they can create letters out of everyday objects, including their bodies! For example, children can arrange their toys in the shape of a letter, or use small building blocks to create a letter or word. Children can also shift their bodies to form part of a letter to embed the concept of what the letter looks like, which will in turn aid their handwriting.

Add Texture and Smell to Letters

You can also incorporate texture and smell into letter formation. Children start by painting a letter with glue on a sheet of paper. Next, they sprinkle it with something that starts with that letter so that your children can feel or smell what they've created. For example, they can sprinkle coffee grounds over the letter "C" or garlic powder over the letter "G." This will help your children practice forming letters independently, and also make an association with those letters that they will remember.

Using fun, sensory activities is a great way to facilitate fine motor skill improvement through play. Even though handwriting is a complex task, by breaking down its components, you can see improvements in your children's writing by using some of these strategies.

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Fun Sensory Activities to Help Improve Handwriting

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Writing is an activity that involves many fine motor skills, and for children with handwriting struggles, holding the pen, forming letters and writing on the line are all challenges. Children with learning difficulties often struggle with writing proper spacing and letter formation. Sensory activities can help children practice and improve fine motor activities for better handwriting.

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Add an exciting range of loose parts to the sand box to increase the creative play possibilities and stimulate some open-ended, child directed learning at the same time!

One of the most neglected areas of play space can be the humble sand box with a simple bucket and spade and sand moulds often being the only toys included. But with a few added extra play ingredients it can become the most wonderful setting for imaginative play, building, landscaping, counting, pattern making and story telling!
Here's a checklist of a few new added extras that we introduced to expand the play possibilities this summer:
large range of buckets, tubs in different sizes:
for filling, emptying, moulding, building, construction, transporting etc

large and small spades and rakes:
for digging, patting, moulding, levelling, scoring, tunnelling, channelling etc

duplo lego blocks:
for building and constructing, pattern making, printing in damp sand, town building, counting, sorting etc

pine cones:
for representing people, fairies and trees in imaginative play, counting, sorting, pattern making, land art etc

fabric flowers, petals and plants:

for decorating sculptures, adding to land art, sorting, making trails, imaginative play additions, making flower pot cupcakes, garden role play etc

water is so often overlooked and very often sand boxes and play tables only offer dry sand. There's SO much more that a child can accomplish using damp sand rather than dry, from constructing castles to digging water channels and making drip sculptures (as above.)

toy dinosaurs, insects, wild animals

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Sand Play Ideas with Loose Parts - The Imagination Tree

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Add an exciting range of loose parts to the sand box to increase the creative play possibilities and stimulate some open-ended, child directed learning at the same time!

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Beach Dramatic Play Area | Dramatic play preschool, Dramatic play themes, Dramatic play lesson plans

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Jan 5, 2014 - This Pin was discovered by Kim Neal. Discover (and save!) your own Pins on Pinterest

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Is your sand and water play in urgent need of rejuvenation? If so, try these imaginative ideas from Anna Ranson...
Sand and water play are two staple sensory activities that should be found in every early years environment due to the huge myriad of learning opportunities they offer. However, they can sometimes be left as sad-looking tables with little or no added resources, thus reducing their interest and failing to maximise their great potential. Sand tables, for example, are all too often left filled with only dry sand, with children therefore missing out on the many opportunities for malleable play that would be possible if water were freely available.

As sensory bases, sand and water provide wonderful possibilities for storytelling, small world imaginative play, science investigations and role-play games. All that's needed are some new materials and a little imagination. So, here are some ideas for enlivening both your sand and water table areas with new sensory additions, themes and storytelling activities, as well as some play recipes to stir into the mix!

Sand play

Coloured sand

Coloured sand is hugely exciting for children and fantastic for sensory play. Try asking children to crush up pieces of broken chalk to make coloured powder. This can be stirred into sand to add colour to it. Alternatively, adding a few tablespoons of brightly coloured powder paints will make an instant change, and look wonderful. The children can be left to experiment with this themselves, and to investigate the best methods for making the sand change colour - can they find a way to combine two colours to create a new one? You could also try adding glitter, small beads or sequins to change the look and feel of ordinary sand and make it a little more magical, for some fantasy imaginative play and storytelling.

Concoctions kitchen

Making a semi-permanent play area for an outdoor concoctions lab or cooking space is a great way to extend sand play away from the usual pit or tabletop area. Children should be encouraged to add out-of-date kitchen products such as lentils, dry pasta and beans as well as fresh herbs and grass that they have snipped from the garden. Real pots, pans, wooden spoons and bowls can be collected from parents and stored on little shelving units with an old table and a pretend play oven. Old recipe books could be brought out to use on dry days to provide some contextual literacy learning opportunities at the same time. Large jugs of water should be kept to hand for making the mixing and 'cooking' possible. Providing baskets of open-ended play materials, such as those listed above, will also further extend the play in these areas.

Play-scapes

Sand is such a malleable material and this makes it wonderful to use as an exciting play base for many otherwise ordinary play activities. For example, using the back of a spade, a roadway can be smoothed through a large sand tray for cars or trains to be raced along. A tunnel or cave can be hollowed out of damp sand for trucks to drive through or animals to live in, and a volcano can be formed to make a great backdrop for a dinosaur habitat. Fabric petals and acrylic gems make a gorgeous fairy world setting, and by adding some white or black aquarium gravel with moon buggies the sandy scene can quickly be transformed into a moonscape.

The sand table is also a perfect place to bring familiar stories to life, and makes a great base for sticking story props into for sequential storytelling through play. Print and laminate the characters from We're Going on a Bear Hunt, or find suitable small toys to match each one instead, then add them into the tray along with an image from the book and other sensory elements to match each section, and watch the story come to life!

Sand playdough

Try using sand to make some unusual and exciting playdough that's perfect for beach and shell themes or seaside small world play set-ups!

Recipe: Mix together 2 cups of plain flour, 1/2 cup of salt, 1 1/2-2 cups of boiling water, 2 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp cream of tartar. Stir until it forms a ball, then turn it onto a surface to knead it until it stops being sticky. Finally, roll it into a thin layer of sand, repeating this until as much sand is incorporated into the dough as possible, without it becoming too dry.

The children could experiment with this themselves and think about what feels dry, sticky and 'just right'. Or set it out with cutters, real shells, glass pebbles and cocktail umbrellas to make little beach scenes, sand castles and natural art pieces.

Home-made mouldable sand

Another activity to try is making your own mouldable sand - you only need two everyday ingredients. Simply add one cup of vegetable oil to five cups of plain flour and stir through until it has a 'damp sand' consistency. It can be coloured in the same way as normal sand, and scent can be added to enrich the sensory experience. It can be used to make sandcastles that hold their shape well, tunnels and imprints from found objects and shells.

Loose materials - sand

Sand play can easily be revived by allowing the children some ownership of the materials they can add to it, for truly child-directed, open-ended play. Make these loose parts easily accessible by storing them in open baskets or buckets near the sand area, and change what they contain often enough to sustain interest, but not so often as to disrupt possible ongoing play. Here are some suggestions for adding to the loose materials baskets, but there are obviously many more possibilities to add to the list...

Pine cones, pebbles, shells, flags, sticks, fabric flowers and leaves, building blocks, straws, pipe cleaners, funnels, toy mini beasts, safari animals, cars and trains, figures.

Water play

Coloured and scented water

Try adding some food colouring to the water table to bring a new sensory dimension into play. Just a large squeeze of liquid colouring should be enough to colour the whole tray while remaining diluted enough not to stain hands or clothing. Focus on one colour theme at a time to practise sorting and classification skills. Ask the children to go on a colour hunt for red (waterproof) objects around the room that can be added to the red water in the activity tray. You could even have a few different trays of coloured water at once, and ask them to sort and match to each one.

Most supermarkets sell strawberry, vanilla and peppermint flavouring in the cake decoration aisle and this can also make a wonderful addition, filling the air with a different scent each time the children play at the table! They can fill and empty bottles to make perfumes, lotions and fizzy drinks, and sell them in a pretend shop to customers. Adding in some glitter would present further wonderful opportunities!

Herbal infusions

Another way to add scent to the water is to make herbal infusions. This is a great activity for settings that have a herb garden or are growing plants indoors on the window sill, as the children can be involved in the whole process. Hand them some scissors and ask them to snip pieces from rosemary, basil, lavender or mint plants, then add the herbs to the water and leave them to soak for a few hours. You can also use herbal teabags or loose-leaf tea for new and exciting smells.

Afterwards, try introducing tongs, sieves and strainers into the water so that the children can play with the plant materials that remain and smell the delicious scent as they do so. The mix can be turned into sensory soups and concoctions, and used to go along with popular stories about cooking, too.

Songs and stories

Water is an easy medium to add story and singing props to, and lends itself really well to certain specific ones. Simply adding five plastic ducks to the water as well as some number, instantly provides an invitation to come and sing and count with the 'Five little ducks went swimming one day' song, in a wholly interactive and fun way. This could easily be adapted for any counting or addition activity to mix in some further learning possibilities, while keeping it open-ended and very hands-on.

In a similar way it is easy to set up a scenario from a book to create a small world storytelling scene in the water, such as Sharing a Shell. For this tray you simply need to add some rocks and shells to create the rock pool environment from the story, then find some similar characters or make some by cutting their basic outlines from coloured craft foam. Place laminated, photocopies of pages from the book, or the book itself, nearby and encourage story-retelling using the available props. This would be great for The Rainbow Fish, The Snail and the Whale, Tiddler and countless other favourite books.

Themed water play

Other ways to bring excitement to water play include introducing themed sessions at the table, of either a morning or afternoon, a day or even a whole week, depending on the children's level of interest. The simplest way to make the water play relevant is to tie it into any current topics or themes that are being focused on at that given time. For example, if you are learning all about springtime then the water table might become a frog pond with little toys to represent all the stages of the frog life cycle, with some added rocks and laminated information words to match the theme.

You can turn the water table into a sensory small world play scene with fairies, plastic jewels and sparkly coloured water to make a magical setting. Create some simple role-play themes, for example, by adding baby dolls with soap, flannels and towels for a baby clinic; some doll clothes with a scrubbing board for an outdoor washing station; or a vehicle car wash. The water table is obviously a great location for setting up some simple science investigations such as floating and sinking and absorption activities, too. Follow the children's lead and be inspired by their imagination and curiosity!

Loose materials - water

When it comes to water play for young children, it's important to remember to add the extra materials that will allow them to interact with it. These are cheap and freely available - look for funnels, sieves, bowls and pots in various sizes, plastic bottles, tubs with holes punctured in the bottom, pieces of plastic tubing and rain guttering, all of which are fantastic added extras to keep in a storage box near to the table, ready for experimenting with pouring and transferring. Some settings may be able to obtain a small hand water pump to extend the play possibilities even further, and are a great way to work on those gross motor and cooperative skills too. Other valuable objects to have ready for free play are sea creatures, boats, cut pieces of coloured craft foam, driftwood and shells, smooth rocks, glass gem pebbles, Duplo and plastic play figures. The children can then make up their own imaginative play scenarios and stories, and incorporate their own choices into their play sessions.
Anna Ranson is a former early years coordinator and lead teacher for a London borough. She is now a mum to four young children and writes the award-winning early education website The Imagination Tree.
You may also be interested in...

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Sand and Water Play | Learning and Development | Teach Early Years

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Is your sand and water play in urgent need of rejuvenation? If so, try these imaginative ideas from Anna Ranson... Sand and water play are two staple sensory activities that should be found in every early years environment due to the huge myriad of learning opportunities they offer.

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Kinetic sand is such a versatile sensory play material. I wanted to demonstrate just some of the many easy ways you can create a sensory bin using kinetic sand. Store bought kinetic sand can be expensive, so I usually make my own using this homemade kinetic sand recipe.

I wanted to show how easily you could create an interactive sensory experience using only kinetic sand and a few items that you may already have around your house. So for this, I used one package of purchased kinetic sand.

Kinetic Sand Sensory Bins:

The possibilities really are endless. You can reuse the same base over and over and create a new experience each time by changing what you fill it with. I also used a few different bin options including one with a lid so that it is a portable sensory bin. Plus if you have cats, the lid keeps them from thinking it's a litter box!

Kinetic sand looks similar to regular sand but acts more like wet sand as it can be moulded and can hold shapes. Those properties make it an ideal tool for sensory play.

Bring the Beach Home Sensory Bin:

This one is especially appealing at the moment given the temperature outside! Create your own mini beach scene at home no matter how far you live from the beach.
Supplies needed:

Sandcastle Building Sensory Bin:

Recreate the feeling of playing in the sand while at home. Dig, build sandcastles, create moats.
Supplies needed:
Sea Turtle Sensory Bin:

Explore the life cycle of green sea turtles with this kinetic sand bin.
Supplies needed:
Cars Sensory Bin:

Use characters from the Cars movie or any toy cars you have on hand.
Supplies needed:
Rainforest Animals Sensory Bin:

Create an interactive learning station at home or in a classroom.
Supplies needed:
Construction Sensory Bin:

This theme is especially popular with boys! They can dig, scoop, move, build, and imagine.

Supplies needed:
Dinosaur Sensory Bin:

This activity can be just for fun or to pair with a dinosaur learning unit.
Supplies needed:
Alphabet Sensory Bin:

It's amazing how much you can do with just a set of alphabet letters and kinetic sand!
Supplies needed:
With this sensory activity, here are some things you can do to help kids work on their letter recognition, reading, and spelling:

have kids spell out words of their choosing

have them recreate words from a spelling list

allow them to seek out and read words that you make in the sand

have them match a letter with its imprint and say the name of the letter

imprint the letters of the word and take the letters out of the bin and have your child find the corresponding letter that matches the imprint like a puzzle.

Looking for more easy sensory play ideas? Join for a five day email series on Sensory Activities and Solutions and get a free sample of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.
You might also want to read: DIY Kinetic Sand Recipe Kinetic Sand Activities

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Kinetic sand is such a versatile sensory play material. I wanted to demonstrate just some of the many easy ways you can create a sensory bin using kinetic sand. Store bought kinetic sand can be expensive, so I usually make my own using this homemade kinetic sand recipe.

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Ocean Sand Sensory Bin | Sensory bins, Sensory boxes, Kids sensory

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Jun 6, 2018 - Create an Ocean Sand Sensory Bin with sticks, shells, blue sand, small sailboat, rocks, ocean creatures and tools to scoop and pour.

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Ocean Sand Sensory Bin | Sensory bins, Sensory boxes, Kids sensory

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Jun 6, 2018 - Create an Ocean Sand Sensory Bin with sticks, shells, blue sand, small sailboat, rocks, ocean creatures and tools to scoop and pour.

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A dinosaur theme is a popular one in many preschool classrooms. This sensory play experience harnesses children's natural interests about dinosaurs and combines it with a fun sensory play experience. This super simple kinetic sand recipe is easy to make for the sensory bin or table in your classroom. Your little paleontologists will love roaring and stomping their dinosaurs through the sand in this dinosaur sensory bin!

Dinosaur Sensory Bin

The first thing you should know before attempting to make any play recipe is that it isn't an exact science. When it comes to play recipes, they're more like science experiments than foolproof recipes.

The most important ingredient in any play recipe is patience, add a little more of this or that to tweak your sand until you get it just right.

Dinosaur Kinetic Sand Recipe

This homemade kinetic sand recipe makes enough kinetic sand to fill one plastic shoe box. For larger classes, you will need to increase the amounts of the ingredients used.

2 Cups of Craft Sand (color of your choice from craft store)

1 TBSP Corn Starch

1 tsp Dawn Dish Soap

Water (start with ¼ cup and add as needed)

Plastic Dinosaurs

Optional: Glass Gems (Dollar Store)

Optional: Aquarium Grass (Pet Store)

How To Make This Kinetic Sand For The Dinosaur Sensory Bin

Start by adding the craft sand to a mixing bowl.

Next, add the corn starch to your bowl.

Then, measure out 1 teaspoon of dish soap and pour it into a separate container. Add ¼ cup of water to the dish soap and stir until bubbles begin to form.

Slowly add the water and soap mixture to your dry ingredients and mix well.

If your mixture is too dry, try adding a bit more water and stir some more. Continue adding water and stirring until the desired consistency is reached.

I ended up using a total of 1/2 of a cup of water, and the consistency was perfect.

Next, pour your kinetic sand in your sensory table along with some plastic dinosaurs and invite your little learners to start exploring!

I also added some blue glass gems from the dollar store and some aquarium grass from the pet store to my sensory bin.

Dinosaur Dig Dramatic Play

If your kids like dinosaurs, they'll LOVE this Dinosaur Dig dramatic play kit!

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Dinosaur Sensory Bin for Preschool - Pre-K Pages

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A dinosaur theme is a popular one in many preschool classrooms. This sensory play experience harnesses children's natural interests about dinosaurs and combines it with a fun sensory play experience. This super simple kinetic sand recipe is easy to make for the sensory bin or table in your classroom.

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Sensory play is a sensational way to learn letters. If you aren't familiar with it, kinetic sand is an interesting substance. It runs through little fingers like a thick liquid but holds a shape when compressed. Using these kinetic sand letter molds to add an educational twist is a great way to reinforce letter familiarity...

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Faux Snow Moon Sand Sensory Bin - Active Littles

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Looking for a fun Faux Snow Moon Sand DIY Recipe this holiday season for a fun indoor activity for kids? There are 3 recipes you can try within this post!

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Sensory Tables and Bins -- Why Are They Beneficial for Children?

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If you're a preschool teacher, chances are you know all about sensory tables. If you don't know much about them or would like to know the benefits of a sensory table, read on. You don't have to be a teacher to have a sensory table.

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I made my 3 year old a fun Outer Space Sensory Exploration Play Activity yesterday. He received moon sand from my mom awhile back and was looking for ideas of different ways he could play with it. While I was putting it together, he had a very hard time being patient- he couldn't wait to play with everything he was seeing! I tried to finish while he was taking his nap because I like to see his little face light up when he gets his "surprise."

Outer Space Sensory Bin

Here's what I put in it:

moon sand- Spinmaster Moon Sand Castle Play Set, Michael's has non-themed ones for cheaper- combine with 40-50% off coupon, or make your own moon sand

superballs- planets

crumpled tinfoil

astronaut toys had on hand

those plastic things toys come in when you buy things from those quarter machines at stores/restaurants- spaceships

star shaped beads

spoon

fork- my son went in the drawer and got it!

ice cream scooper- for making craters, make indentations with backside of scooper

shovel and miscellaneous other things to dig and scoop with rocks- moon rocks

Things I wish I had on hand to put in it:

Some of the activities we did beside making craters are: counting the tinfoil and star beads and placing them into the pretend spaceships, I hid all the stars and he had to dig until he found all 13, and made craters. The ice cream scooper was the biggest hit- he made a ton of moon ice cream!

Baby Sensory Play Bin

Baby Sister got to play with her very own Planets and Stars Sensory Bin too! This was a big hit and kept her busy for quite awhile. Her big brother thought it was so cool that his little sister got her own one to play with. At one point she dumped the box over and then she was chasing planets and reaching for the stars..... lol!

Check out this week's Smart Summer Challenge- Outer Space Week!

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Outer Space Sensory Exporation Bin + 1 For Baby Too! - Artsy Momma

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Inside: It's easy to make a construction sensory bin when using kinetic sand. Simply mix it with some loose parts and add construction vehicles, and it's ready to go!
Kinetic sand in the sensory bin is amazing.

If you have not explored this stuff yet, you simply must.

It's a sensory experience for kids (and grown ups) of all ages!

During our transportation theme, I found some mini construction vehicles and recalled our alphabet construction sensory bin that we had awhile back.

I used a similar idea, except did not add the letters and changed the vehicles. But it was loved just as much, if not more.

The teacher in me also loves that this is a playful way to strengthen fine motor skills!

The Easiest Construction Sensory Bin Using Kinetic Sand
What we used: Kinetic Sand CAT Mini Machine Construction Trucks
Loose parts, such as rocks and wine corks

Watch the kids in action with this construction sensory bin:

Books to go with this activity:

You might notice little stars mixed in our sand. That's because our entire preschool shares materials, and we use them as much as we can. I'm not exactly sure who had this sand last, or why they put stars in it, but we don't get picky about these things. I love that we can get as much use as we can out of our materials since we are on a budget!

As soon as our preschoolers arrived, they dove into this playful construction sensory bin.

They were intrigued by how the sand felt in their hands, and loved packing it into the beds of the trucks.

The preschoolers then created a challenge to see what size rocks would fit into the beds of the trucks as well.

I could hear them mimicking the sounds of trucks backing up, going "beep, beep, beep!".

And they had to work on sharing space, making sure everyone had enough sand.

A super simple, super fun construction sensory bin that helps build fine motor skills while using the imagination!
This activity was part of our transportation theme. Come see how our classroom was set up!
Planning your transportation theme? We've done the work for you!

I am so excited to be a co-author of these transportation theme lesson plans.

24 preschool learning activities for your transportation theme, including literacy, math, science, art, fine motor, and more! A great resource for teachers and homeschoolers.

24 preschool learning activities that cover:

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The Easiest Construction Sensory Bin Using Kinetic Sand

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Inside: It's easy to make a construction sensory bin when using kinetic sand. Simply mix it with some loose parts and add construction vehicles, and it's ready to go! Kinetic sand in the sensory bin is amazing. If you have not explored this stuff yet, you simply must.

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Play and Learn with Stones - The Kindergarten Connection

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Bring the beach indoors at home or school and invite your little learners to play and learn with stones. Dig around in moon sand and get hands-on with the essential early math skills of sorting, grouping and making patterns. This super fun sensory bin is sure to be a hit with your kids!

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Kinetic Sand Math Activity {Fine Motor Sensory Play} | Math activities, Math activities preschool, Math activities for kids

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May 18, 2015 - Exploring base ten math concepts using kinetic sand. A great fine motor sensory activity for kids.

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Have you discovered the wonders of kinetic sand? We are in LOVE with it. The girls play with it while I read lessons. It is a wonderful way to keep little hands busy and brains engaged. One day I was planning what to do for our math lesson and saw the kinetic sand on the table. The result is the following eight ways to use kinetic sand for math.

8 Ways to Use Kinetic Sand for Math

1. Telling time

Start by making a flat surface in the kinetic sand. Then press the circle side of a geoboard onto the flat surface.

Next, use play-dough stampers to stamp the number onto the sand.

Finally, cut a coffee stir stick or pipe cleaner to length so it fits from the center of the circle to the number "3." Cut another one half that length. Ask your child to show you various times by moving the sticks to where the hands of the clock should be for that time.

2. Perimeter

Start by making a flat surface in the kinetic sand. Then press the square side of a geoboard onto the flat surface.

Ask your child to draw a shape with a popsicle stick by connecting the dots. Tell him that a line connecting two dots is defined as "1" for this activity. Then ask him to calculate the perimeter of the shape. He can count the number of lines connecting the dots.

3. Area

Or you can ask him to calculate the area of the shape. He can count the number of squares inside the shape.

4. Shapes

Molds for the kinetic sand are a fun way to learn about shapes. We enjoy using these two sets.

You can make various 3D shapes and talk about the shape and how it is similar or different from other shapes.

5. Patterns

You can also use the shapes to make patterns.

6. Counting

Have your child fill a container and cut the resulting shape into pieces. You could work on counting the pieces. You could also roll balls and count the balls.

7. Fractions and Percentages

You can use kinetic sand to practice fractions. Use a mold to make a shape such as a square or rectangle. Here are several activities for fraction practice.

8. Measuring

You can use measuring spoons and measuring cups with the kinetic sand. Have your child practice counting how many quarter cups are in one cup or how many tablespoons are in a quarter cup.

Find more math manipulative and game suggestions in the math manipulative post series.

Practice cutting the shape into equal pieces.

Talk about how many pieces you have and what fractional portion one shape would be, such as if you have six pieces, one piece is one-sixth of the whole.

Have your child crush a few of the pieces and talk about what fraction is remaining. For example, if he began with six pieces and he crushed two pieces, he would have four-sixths remaining.

Have your child cut one piece in half, then each piece in half again. Talk about halves and quarters or that each piece is fifty percent or twenty-five percent, respectively.

This post has been linked to The Massive Guide to Homeschooling Math and Hands-on Homeschool Ideas

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Have you discovered the wonders of kinetic sand? We are in LOVE with it. The girls play with it while I read lessons. It is a wonderful way to keep little hands busy and brains engaged. One day I was planning what to do for our math lesson and saw the kinetic sand on the table.

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Remarkable Preschool Math Center Ideas | Preschool math centers, Preschool math, Math activities preschool

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Sep 22, 2017 - I know from my Facebook question a few weeks ago that many (many!) of you are preschool and Kindergarten teachers. While I am loving being home with my own little ones right now, I still get the itch to be in the classroom.

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Remarkable Preschool Math Center Ideas | Preschool math centers, Preschool math, Math activities preschool

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Sep 22, 2017 - I know from my Facebook question a few weeks ago that many (many!) of you are preschool and Kindergarten teachers. While I am loving being home with my own little ones right now, I still get the itch to be in the classroom.

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I am a blog ambassador for Lakeshore and am compensated for my work. I received product free of charge, but all thoughts and opinions are 100% mine.
I am all about jumping on a good bandwagon, and I'm telling you: kinetic sensory sand is the one you need to jump on. Kinetic sensory sand is, well, pretty amazing and it makes for one insanely quick and easy kids activity.

I tell everyone how amazing this stuff is - because it really is - but the question I always get back is the say, "How do you play with it?"
Obviously, I've got you covered.
Playing with kinetic sensory sand is so easy!

Kinetic sensory sand is fun to play with just on its own. I love (yes, I said I, as in me - a 35-year-old mom of 3) running my hands through it. You never get over how cool it feels.

It moves and molds, bends and cuts in a way that is completely different from other sensory bases. It has a velvety smooth texture - it isn't gritty like sand. This isn't going to get in your toddler's eye like traditional sand will.
But what else can you do with kinetic sensory sand other than just run your hands through it?!
There are so many great ways to play with kinetic sensory sand!

This is an EASY way to introduce kinetic sensory sand to your family - it's actually exactly how this obsession started at our house.

My kids got this set from Grandma after we saw it in a Lakeshore Learning store. We love wandering Lakeshore stores to see their amazing toys and the kinetic sensory sand jumped out at us that day. No surprise - it was amazing and took our family by storm! We were all in love with this set.

Now I'm on a mission to let everyone know how amazing Lakeshore's kinetic sensory sand is!

The Mold & Play Sensory Sand Set comes with a little bit of everything to start you on your kinetic sensory sand adventure. I'm a huge fan of the building molds - there's nothing more satisfying than pretending you've made the world's most intricate tiny sand castle.

There are also great little blocks that make perfect cubes.

My kids love the roller - making the sand smooth is a big deal. They love making "parking lots" and "lawns" in their sensory sand.

Between the building, rolling, and scraping, my whole family plays with this set for hours. It never gets old (literally and figuratively: one of my favorite parts of kinetic sand is that it doesn't get old / go bad.).

What's better than just sensory play? Sensory play and imaginative play combined.

My kids (3 and 5) think they run their own Dairy Queen with this Sensory Sand Ice Cream Set.

The kinetic sensory sand works perfectly to make little ice cream scoops; it even has tiny cones and bowls for them to serve their creations in.

But even when they've finished playing ice cream shop, they have loads of open ended opportunities with the set.

The spoons are perfect for scooping, there's an endless number of cones to build, and the cups are great building molds too so this isn't a one-and-done type toy. The play possibilities are endless.

Technically, these aren't specifically made for sensory sand but trust me, these are the best. My kids have so much fun working with these tools in their kinetic sensory sand bins.
Here's what we do with the Little Hands Fine Motor Tools:

The tweezers make for perfect grabbers to move sections of sand around

The scissor scoop makes the coolest egg-shaped sand mounds

The squeeze and scoop tool is perfect for making sand balls.

There is also a wavy water dropper that comes with this set which is so much fun for liquid activities.
These tools come in handy all the time for my family, and especially with sensory sand. They just work so perfectly together.

Kinetic sensory sand is that cool

Trust me - kinetic sensory sand is amazing. It's also amazing what an easy, low key sensory activity it is for kids. Just grab your bag of sand, dump it out, add a few toys and viola. You've got happy playing kids, totally engaging with their sensory sand.

I got my kinetic sand from Lakeshore. I'm a huge Lakeshore fan - and have been for more than a decade. The products are well-made, teacher-designed, and kid-tested. But the best is - I know my kids are playing AND learning whenever they are using a Lakeshore toy.

Looking to grab some kinetic sensory sand for your kids? Use this 25% off coupon from Lakeshore Learning! To learn more about Lakeshore, find them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube.

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Kinetic Sensory Sand - What is it and how do you play with it?

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You've got to try kinetic sensory sand - a perfect quick and easy activity for kids. Here are 3 great toys to use with your kinetic sensory sand to give your kids hours of quality play time. (sponsored by Lakeshore Learning)

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Look at these and think of ways to add sand as well into the center for new ideas

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DIY Sand Blocks | Diy musical instruments, Fairy dust teaching, Diy instruments

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Aug 6, 2013 - It is super simple to make your own sand blocks - and on the cheap! These are wonderful for a Music center. You can do group music as you can make a class set for under $25. Woo hoo! What you will need: 60 coarse grit sand paper wood blocks (wood craft section of Hobby Lobby or Michaels - I watch for sales) wood glue w…

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It's important for preschoolers to have practice forming letters before they learn to write with a pencil and paper. One way to do this is with a sensory writing tray. These trays are very easy to put together and are a great addition to a writing center.

Sensory Writing Tray

A sensory writing tray is a shallow container filled with any material that can be moved around with a finger or writing utensil to form letters or numbers. The purpose of this tray is to allow children to practice writing without the stress of holding a pencil. This is a carefree and fun way to help your preschoolers learn how to write.

Here's what you need for a sensory writing tray:

Tray (I found mine at the Target Dollar Spot)

Material for the tray: sugar, salt, cornmeal, or sand

Writing utensils (optional)

Letter cards - I like to use these letter formation rhymes

Gel food coloring of your choice

I used colored sugar in my writing trays pictured here, but you could also use colored salt or sand. To color the sugar, pour about 2 cups of sugar into a bag. Add a few drops of gel food coloring. Close the bag and shake until the color is mixed. If it's not mixing well, spread it on the tray and mix with your hands. If you would like to add a scent, add a few drops of peppermint or vanilla extract and mix again.

When the sugar is colored and dry, spread it around in a tray. You don't need a lot in the tray, just a thin layer that covers the tray bottom. If you add too much sugar, it may become difficult to make and see the letters in the tray.

Add the alphabet formation cards to your center so children can see how to form letters correctly. I use both the uppercase and lowercase alphabet formation rhymes so the children can see the example of the letter when writing. I keep the cards in a binder and invite children to flip the pages to see different letters.

Using the Tray in Your Writing Center

After the writing center is set up, teach students to write letters on the tray using a finger, a dull pencil (or the eraser end), or even a watercolor paintbrush! Make sure to teach the expectations at the center first to avoid any potential problems that may arise during the exploration.

It's okay if your preschoolers can't form the letters perfectly, they're just practicing. Of course, you can encourage them to look more closely at the letters when they form the letter incorrectly. Writing trays are a wonderful and stress-free way to practice making letters - and they're easy to erase too! After writing one or several letters, show children how to "erase" by rubbing a hand over the tray or gently shaking the tray to redistribute the sugar.

My children love sensory writing trays and this would be the perfect addition to your preschool writing center. I hope you'll try it out!

BIO: Angela is the writer and creator at Teaching Mama, where she shares hands-on learning activities for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. She is a former teacher, turned stay-at-home-mom to 3 wonderful boys. She is also the creator of the alphabet and shape formation rhymes, which you can find here. You can connect with her on Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram.

Other Activities and Ideas-
What's in Your Writing Center?
Dollar Store Writing Center
Gingerbread Man Maps Writing Center
Writing in the Dramatic Play Center

Follow myWriting Pinterest Board for more great ideas!

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Sensory Writing Tray for the Writing Center - Pre-K Pages

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It's important for preschoolers to have practice forming letters before they learn to write with a pencil and paper. One way to do this is with a sensory writing tray. These trays are very easy to put together and are a great addition to a writing center.

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Over the summer months, do you find yourself spending a great deal of time outside with your kids, enjoying the weather and playing with them in the sand? Turn that playtime up a notch with these literacy activities - perfect for mixing it up in the sand.

Each activity listed below will help your kids strengthen their letter recognition, develop fine motor skills, and practice sight word recognition. You just need a sandbox or a space on the beach, along with a few simple supplies.

1. Writing in the Sand

Sand makes a perfect writing surface. Pour a little water on the sand and smooth it with your hand or the back of a toy shovel. Then, grab a stick that's about six inches long, for your child to use as a writing utensil. (If you can't find one, fingers will work too!)

Little ones can draw straight or wiggly lines in the sand. Preschoolers can practice writing their names or letters of the alphabet. Afterwards, simply smooth out the writing and repeat. The resistance of the sand when your kids write helps develop hand strength.

2. Sand Letters

Sand provides a wonderful tactile sensory experience for young learners. For this activity, you will need some index cards, a permanent marker, and white school glue. Write a letter that your kids need to practice on each card.

Now, have your kids each select one letter card to identify. They will trace over the letter with glue. Next, they should sprinkle sand over the letter. Repeat with as many letter cards as necessary. Allow the cards to dry.

Once they're ready, the cards can be used to practice letter identification and tracing. Your children should identify the letter and then trace the letter with their fingers. This kinesthetic approach will help many young learners master the alphabet.

3. Digging for Letters

For this activity, tell the kids they'll be digging for buried treasures. The loot in this treasure hunt are letters of the alphabet. Hide foam or plastic letters under the sand. Hand out toy shovels and digging tools to the kids.

As the kids find the letters, have them name each letter. Older children can also identify the sound the letter represents and even name a word that begins with that letter.

Add a little math into the activity by having the kids count how many letters they find in their treasure hunt.

4. Fill the Word Pails

Grab five sand pails, and a scooper or toy shovel. On the outside of each write a number word that the kids need to practice recognizing. For example, you might write one, two, three, four, and five.

The children now have to fill the word pails. The catch is that they can only put the number of scoops of sand in each pail based on the number word they read. It's a clever way to get in a little reading practice during outside play.

5. Sand Signs

Kids enjoy building roads, castles, and dunes. Encourage your kids to also make signs to identify landmarks. All you need are a few sticks collected from the yard, a couple of index cards, masking tape, and a marker.

Write the name of each landmark on an index card. Young writers can sound out the words and put down the sounds they hear or you can write the names for them. Attach each card to a stick with tape. Your kids are now ready to mark each landmark by placing the sticks in the sand.

Turn your next outing in the sandbox into a literacy-building session and watch your kids flourish as they play.

Featured Photo Credit: ©kiankhoon/Thinkstock

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5 Activities to Build Literacy Skills in the Sandbox

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Get your child learning while playing in the sand, whether at the beach, playground, or in your own backyard.

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Beach Fingerplay | fingerplay song for children

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Beach Songs, Poems, & Fingerplays
At the Beach
At the beach,
The sun shines down.
(Make circle with arms overhead.)I see smiles
(Point to smile)
On kids all around.
Smiling kids in the sand
(Sit on floor)
Smiling kids in the sea,
(Pretend to swim)
But the happiest kid
At the beach is me!
(Smile and point to self)

Down at the seashore,
Isn't it grand?
Wiggling my toes (wiggle toes)
In the soft warm sand.
Building a tall sand castle(make building motions)
Where the King and Queen can stay,
But when the tide comes rushing in(one arm sweeps inwards)
They will have to move away! (Arm makes leveling motion)
Splashing in the water(hands make splashing motions)
Of the cool blue sea,
Playing wave tag - in and out, (run forward with small steps)
You can't catch me!(run quickly backwards)
Holding up a seashell
Tightly to my ear. (Hold fist tightly to ear)
Shh! It's telling me a secret (other hand holds finger to lips)
That only I can hear

Five little shells lying on the shore,
Crash went the waves and then there were 4.
4 little shells down by the sea,
Crash went the waves! then there were 3.
3 little shells, smooth as new,
Crash went the waves! then there were 2.
2 little shells, sparkling in the sun,
Crash went the waves! Then there was 1.
1 little shell, left by itself,
I took it home, and put it on my shelf.

5 little seagulls sitting on the beach.
One walked along the shore,
then there were four.
4 little seagulls sitting on the beach.
One hid behind a tree,
then there were three.
3 little seagulls sitting on the beach.
One got up and flew,
then there were two.
2 little seagulls sitting on the beach.
One went to have some fun,
then there was one.
1 little seagull sitting on the beach.
she went to chase the sun,
then there were none.

I like to watch the sea gulls, (fists up to eyes)
Playing in the sky.
Dipping and soaring(wave arm in air)
Through the clouds,
I wish that I could fly

(Sung to the tune of: "Take Me Out to the Ba ll Game")
(Sung to the tune of: "A Hunting We Will Go")
Let's go to the beach
To swim and play and run.
Building castles in the sand
Is ever so much fun.
We'll fix a picnic lunch
And eat it when we like.
And when we all are nice and full
We'll take a nature hike.
Be sure to wear your suit
And bring along your float.
We'll ride so far out in the surf
Pretending it's a boat.
(In advance hide several beach toys and a beach bag around the classroom.
Then sing the first two verses of the song. Ask the children to help to find
the missing beach items. Once the items are gathered and
placed in the bag, joyously sing the last verse.)
Whoosh goes the wind,
(Sway arms back and forth)
Sniff Sniff goes my nose,
(Sniff)
Crash goes the waves
(Clap!)
Splish Splash go my toes,
(Kick feet)
I'll hunt for sea shells.
(Pretend to gather shells.)
You sift the sand.
(Pretend to sift sand)
Let's build a sand castle.
As high as we can!
(Place one fist on top of the other going higher and higher.)
For lunch we'll have crackers.
Some juice and a peach.
(Pretend to eat)
Oh my! What fun
Is this day at the beach!
(Clap hands)

(Sung to the tune of: "Row, Row, Row Your Boat")

Sand castle on the beach,
I built you big and strong
(raise arms high)A wave washed in upon the sand.
Whoops! You were gone!
(swing hands down, then up)

(Sung to the tune of: "Down By The Bay")

Down by the shore
In the sand and the sun,
I like to dive
And splash and run.
And as the waves
Roll out and in,
I'll get warm in the sun
And have lots of fun.
Down by the shore!

Down at the seashore, Splashing in the water
Isn't it grand?
Wiggling my toes(hands make splashing motions)
Of the cool blue sea,
Playing wave tag - in and out,(run forward with small steps)
You can't catch me!(run quickly backwards)

Holding up a seashell
Tightly to my ear. (Hold fist tightly to ear)
Shh! It's telling me a secret(other hand holds finger to lips)
That only I can hear(wiggle toes)
In the soft warm sand.
Building a tall sand castle(make building motions)
Where the King and Queen can stay,
But when the tide comes rushing in(one arm sweeps inwards)
They will have to move away! (Arm makes leveling motion)

(Sung to the tune of: "Frere Jacques")
Read the following poem to your children.
Have them act out the movements as they are described.

I dig holes in the sand with my fingers. (Wiggle fingers)
I dig holes in the sand with my toes.(Wiggle toes.)
Then I pour some water in the holes (Pretend to pour water.)
I wonder where it goes. (Move hands out to sides, palms up.)

Sand, sand, sand.
Sand, sand, sand.
I love sand.
I love sand.
It's fun to squish it
Between my toes
Or build a mountain
As high as my nose
Or dig a tunnel
that grows and grows
'Cause I love sand!

Mold, mold, mold the sand,
Mold, mold, mold the sand,
Mold, mold, mold the sand,
Mold it in your hands.

Pat, pat, pat the sand,
Pat, pat, pat the sand,
Pat, pat, pat the sand,
Pat it in your hands.

Sift, sift, sift the sand,
Sift, sift, sift the sand,
Sift, sift, sift the sand,
Sift it in your hands.

Have you ever shaken a sifter?
A shakity, shake, shake, shake?
Have you ever shaken a sifter?
When you're making a big sand cake.

Oh, I like to shake my sifter.
A shakity, shake, shake, shake?
Yes, I like to shake my sifter
When I'm making a big sand cake.

We are going to the beach, to the beach to the beach to the beach.
We are going to the beach, we're gonna have some fun.
I shall like to swim all day, swim all day, swim all day.
I shall like to swim all day, then lay out in the sun.
I will build a castle here, castle here, castle here.
I will build a castle here, I'll have the tallest one.

I went to the beach
And what did I see?
A bird on the sand
(Using fingers- make thumb and index finger touch)
Looking at me!
(Look at each other making a birds beak)

I went to the beach
And what did I see?
A fish in the water
(Using hand and make it like a fish swimming)
Splashing at me!
(Make hand movements like splashing water)

I went to the beach
And what did I see?
A shell in the sand
Sparkling at me!
(Make one fist with one hand and have the other finger tap top of fist)

I went to the beach
And what did I see?
A crab in its shell
(Make a crab using all 10 fingers & place hand over other hand and wiggle fingers)
Waving at me!

Sea shells, white sand, ocean blue,
Sunshine, cool breeze, seagulls, too.
Hear the children laugh and shout
As they play and run about.

One day a little shell washed up (hold shell)
Out of the waves at sea.
I held the shell up to my ear(hold shell to ear)
And I heard it sing to me.
Sh . . . sh . . . sh. . . sh. . .(children repeat)
A little shell washed up one day,
and lay upon the sand.(hold shell in hand)
It sang a song about the sea,
As I held it in my hand.
Sh . . . sh. . . sh. . .sh. . .(children repeat)

(Sung to the tune of: "Frere Jacques")

Pretty sea shell, pretty sea shell
On the sand, on the sand
Pick it up and hold it
Pick it up and hold it
In your hand, in your hand

Five cranky crabs were digging on the shore.
One swam into a net and then there were four.
Four cranky crabs were floating in the sea.
One got tangled up in seaweed then there were three.
Three Cranky crabs were wondering what to do.
One dug a deep, deep hole. Then there were two.
Two cranky crabs were warming in the sun.
One got scooped up in a cup. Then there was one.
One cranky crab was smarter than his friends.
He hid between the jagged rocks. That's how the story ends.

Five little hermit crabs walking on the shore,
The tide came in and then there were four.
Four little hermit crabs living by the sea,
The tide came in and then there were three.
Three little hermit crabs wondering what to do,
The tide came in and then there were two.
Two little hermit crabs soaking up the sun,
The tide came in and then there was one.
One little hermit crab sitting all alone.
The tide came in and carried him home.

I went walking,
I went walking.
Saw a crab.
Saw a crab.
Right on the beach
Saw a crab,
Saw a crab,
Walking this way
With its feet.
(Walk sideways on hands and feet.)

Make a sand cake Digging and sifting,
In the sand.
And shake it about,
Spoon in our pails
And then pour out.
Digging and sifting
Just feels grand!

Feels so good on our hands.

The life guard looks out on the ocean,
The life guard looks out on the sea.
He/She carefully watches the swimmers,
And helps them if they are in need.

Splish, Splash the waves crash
The lifeguard is watching to keep us safe,
Splish, Splash the waves crash
The lifeguard is watching us swim.

My beach bag, my beach bag,
My filled-with-toys beach bag -
Was on my way to the shore today,
And on the way I lost it.
I lost it. I lost it.
Yes, on the way I lost it.
With all my castle-building toys,
Oh, I'm so sad I lost it.
We found it. We found it.
Yes, finally we found it!
With all my castle-building toys,
Oh, I'm so glad we found it.

(Sung to the tune of: "Ten Little Indians")

Scoop up sand and put it in your bucket.
Scoop up sand and put it in your bucket.
Scoop up sand and put it in your bucket.
How much do you have?

Five little sea shells lying on the shore
Swish! Went the waves, and then there were four.
Four little sea shells cozy as could be
Swish! Went the waves, and then there were three.
Three little sea shells all pearly new
Swish! Went the waves, and then there were two.
Two little sea shells sleeping in the sun
Swish! Went the waves and then there was one.
One little sea shell left all alone
Whispered, "SHHHHHHHHH" as I took it home.

One little, two little, three little sea shells,
Four little, five little, six little sea shells,
Seven little, eight little, nine little sea shells.
Ten little sea shells by the shore.

Ten little, nine little, eight little sea shells
Seven little, six little, five little sea shells
Four little, three little, two little sea shells
One little sea shell by the shore.

See the little sea shells
Count them one by one.
Line them up upon the sand
It really is quite fun!

This is the way we play at the beach,
Play at the beach, play at the beach.
This is the way we play at the beach,
So early in the morning.
This is the way we dig in the sand,
This is the way we play in the surf,
This is the way we lie in the sun,
(Act out each verse and add others the kids come up with.)

Giant shells, tiny shellsShells, Shells, Shells

(form circles with fingers for shells)
Shells wherever I look.
There are so very many shells,
I could write a book.

Rainbow shells, purple shells,
Shells that curve around.
I can see the beauty here
Just lying on the ground.

There's a pretty little legend
That I would like to tell
Of the birth and death of Jesus
Found in this lowly shell.

If you examine closely,
You'll see that you find here
Four nail holes and a fifth one
Made by a Roman spear.

On one side the Easter lily,
Its center is the star
That appeared unto the shepherds
And led them from afar.

The Christmas poinsettia
Etched on the other side
Reminds us of his Birthday,
Our Happy Christmastide.

Now break the center open
And here you will release
The five white doves awaiting
To spread Good Will and Peace.

This simple little symbol,
Christ left for you and me
To help us spread His Gospel
Through all eternity.

I found a great big shell one day.
(Cup hands as if holding large shell)

Upon the ocean floor.
(Pick it up from the floor)

I held it close up to my ear.
(Hand cupped to ear)

I heard the ocean roar!
I found a tiny shell one day.
(Pretend to roll shell between fingers)

Upon the ocean sand.
The waves had worn it nice and smooth.
It felt nice in my hand.
(Place little shell in palm of other hand)

(Sung to the tune of: "Wheels On The Bus")

The sun at the beach is shining bright,
Shining bright, shining bright.
The sun at the beach is shining bright,
All through the day.

The waves of the sea come rolling in,
Rolling in, rolling in.
The waves of the sea come rolling in,
All through the day.

The seagulls up above come diving down,
Diving down, diving down.
The seagulls up above come diving down,
All through the day.

The crabs near the rocks go pinch, pinch, pinch.
Pinch, pinch, pinch; pinch, pinch, pinch.
The crabs near the rocks go pinch, pinch, pinch.
All through the day.

The sand underfoot goes crunch, crunch, crunch.
Crunch, crunch, crunch; crunch, crunch, crunch.
The sand underfoot goes crunch, crunch, crunch.
All through the day.

The kids at the seashore splash and play,
Splash and play, splash and play.
The kids at the seashore splash and play,
All through the day

Dad and I went down to the beach
To build a sand castle this high
(Place hand at waist level.)
It started out small without many rooms
But soon it was touching the sky.
(Raise hand as high as possible.)
We stayed at the beach in the warm sunshine,
Watching the seagulls all day
(Cup hand above eyes and look around.)
Then the waves splashed so high up onto the shore.
That our castle was all washed away.
(Swoosh away pretend castle.)

(Sung to the tune of: "Row, Row, Row Your Boat")

Scoop, scoop, scoop the sand.
Scoop it one, two, three.
Scooping, scooping
Scooping, scooping -
Scoop and count with me.

I dig holes in the sand with my fingers,
(Wiggle fingers)
I dig holes in the sand with my toes.
(Wiggle toes)
Then I pour some water in the holes
(Pretend to pour water)
I wonder where it goes.
(Hold hands out to sides, palms up)

Pre-K Fun Theme Pages are for educational reference only!
No copyright infringement is intended.
I do not claim any of these as my own ideas.
They are shared from friends and fellow group members.
Thanks for sharing all your great ideas!

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Beach Songs, Poems, & Fingerplays At the Beach At the beach, The sun shines down. (Make circle with arms overhead.) I see smiles (Point to smile) On kids all around. Smiling kids in the sand (Sit on floor) Smiling kids in the sea, (Pretend to swim) But the happiest kid At the beach is me!

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repeat the song replacing "swim" with other verbs such as: slide, swish, and splash.

Excellent song to use with "A Million Fish...More Or Less" by Patricia C. McKissack

Caught a million fish,
What'll I do?
Caught a million fish,
What'll I do?
Caught a million fish,
What'll I do?
I'll bring them home to show to you!

Alligator ate some,
What'll I do?
Alligator ate some,
What'll I do?
Alligator ate some,
What'll I do?
I'll bring the rest to show to you!

(Repeat the second verse, inserting the phrases below.)

Raccoons ate some, what'll I do?....
Fish crows ate some, what'll I do?....
Hungry cat ate some, what'll I do?....

Three fish left,
What'll I do?
Three fish left,
What'll I do?
Three fish left,
What'll I do?
I'll have to tell the tale to you!

I'm a little fish in the ocean so blue,
There are so many things that I can do,
I can swim around with my tail and fin.
The water's fine-just jump right in.
Six little fish that I once knew,
Fat ones, skinny ones, fair ones, too.
But the one little fish who was the leader of the crowd.
He led the other fish around and around.
I saw a fish go swimming by, go swimming by, go swimming by.
I saw a fish go swimming by, so early in the morning.

Color and cut out several fish patterns. Tape the fish around the classroom so they can be seen by the students. Change the lyrics to the song to reflect the fish around the classroom.
I saw a fish that was green and blue, green and blue, green and blue.
I saw a fish that was green and blue, so early in the morning.

When you're done singing, call on a child to find and point to the green and blue fish. That student can then repeat the song using a different color or colors.
Ocean Fingerplays

One, two, three, four, five
(Hold up fingers while counting)
Once I caught a fish alive.
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten
(hold up additional fingers)
Then I let it go again.
Why did I let it go?
Because it bit my finger so.
Which finger did it bite?
The little finger on the right.
(hold up pinky on the right hand)
Five little fishes swimming near the shore,
The red snapper took a bite and then there were four.
Four little fishes swimming in the sea,
The orange roughy swam away and then there were three.
Three little fishes in the ocean blue,
The pink salmon took a seahorse ride and then there were two.
Two little fishes, swimming in the sun,
The yellow perch swam too far and then there was one.
One little blue marlin, now you're all alone,
I'll put you in my fish bowl and take you home.
I like to make flannel board fish to use with this.

*Use the "fish" from the above rhyme and say:

There are so many fish in the deep blue sea.
What color fish does______________see?

(Insert child's name in the blank. Point to a fish and have child name the color.)

Five little fishes swimming in a pool.(wiggle five fingers, move arm)
The first fish said, "This pool is cool!" (Shiver and hug yourself)
The second fish said, "This pool is deep." (Use a low voice)
The third fish said, "I want to sleep." (yawn and stretch)
The fourth fish said, "I spy a ship." (hand shading eyes)
Fishing boat comes, line goes kersplash! (throw in line)
Away the five little fishies dash. (fingers "swim" away quickly)

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repeat the song replacing "swim" with other verbs such as: slide, swish, and splash. Excellent song to use with "A Million Fish...More Or Less" by Patricia C. McKissack Caught a million fish, What'll I do?Caught a million fish,What'll I do?Caught a million fish,What'll I do?I'll bring them home to show to you!Alligator ate some,What'll I do?Alligator ate some,What'll I do?Alligator ate some,What'll I do?I'll bring the rest to show to you!

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thematic unit sand castles frog storytime summertime cindy circle rhymes beach five little water

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Kids of all ages love sensory play, and what better sensory fun than playing with sand? It evokes all kinds of wonderful memories for us all, of lazy days spent playing on beaches! Here are 23 Sensational Sand Play Ideas Your Kids (And You!) will Love.

Sand is so versatile - you can sift it, dig in it, pour it, enjoy the feel of it, build with it, and even make art with it! This versatility means that it appeals to toddlers, preschoolers and even bigger kids who enjoy getting hands-on for some sensory fun.
You May Also Enjoy 27 Innovative & Fun Water Play Ideas
Super Fun Sand Play Ideas

#1. Sand Drawings Outside

Drawing with sand is so much fun! Like Buggy and Buddy, using clear squeeze bottles and a variety of coloured sand, use the great outdoors for your canvas!
You May Also Enjoy WATCH: How to Make Bubble Solution for Hours of Bubble Fun
#2. Sand Dough Sensory Play

Using three simple ingredients, Little Bins For Little Hands show us how you can create some sensory sand dough to explore at home! It feels soft to touch and doesn't leave a heavy residue on the hands. It also sweeps up easily, which is a bonus.
You May Also Enjoy 7 Simple Sensory Box Ideas
#3. Creating Sand Castles that will Last

Sand castles are great fun to make. Want to create one that will last? Meaningful Mama gives us the low down on creating your very own sand castle sculpture.
You May Also Enjoy 19 Fun Summer Activities for Kids to Make Most of Season
#4. Indoor Beach

Do you want to give your child sensory activities to explore, but are held back as they still put things in their mouths? How about an edible indoor beach, courtesy of Mama Papa Bubba?
You May Also Enjoy 8 Simple Craft Ideas For Kids That Will Amuse Preschoolers
#5. Sand Art Bottles

Aren't these gorgeous? Recycle some old bottles or containers and create a fantastic keepsake. Art Bar used food colouring to dye sand in a variety of colours.

#6. Sand Foam

Using only two ingredients, this is an interesting sensory activity by Little Bins For Little Hands, that is very simple to create. Whether you are creating a play set up for imaginative play or mark making, sand foam is sure to go down a treat!

#7. Train Tracks in the Sand

Is your child crazy about trains? You could take inspiration from Play Trains by gathering sticks together and take a trip down to the beach. Create your very own train tracks in the sand, or even extend this idea to create your very own sand city!
You May Also Enjoy 50 Interesting Things to do at the Beach
#8. Preschool Dinosaur Dig

Calling all archaeologists! Uncover the dinosaur bones and see if you can identify the creatures, in this activity by Fireflies and Mud Pies.
You May Also Enjoy 16 Super Easy Craft Activities for Toddlers & Preschoolers
#9. Sand Paint

We love painting activities and have done many different techniques over on our blog. I love the idea of adding textures, and sand would be a great choice and great fun for finger painting! Homegrown Friends have also been busy sand painting.
You May Also Enjoy Fun Guaranteed with these 22 Easy Painting Ideas for Kids
#10. Sandy Oobleck

Buggy and Buddy share the recipe to create a fun Sandy Oobleck to explore. They show us in their ooey-gooey dinosaur world.
You May Also Enjoy How to Make Oobleck
#11. Microwave Puffy Paint

This Puffy Paint by Simple Fun For Kids is an interesting media to paint with. I love that children can help create this paint from scratch! You can offer a range of materials to transfer the paint onto the canvas. Whether you choose to use spoons, hands or squeezy plastic bottles you will create some fun puffy textured art work!
Click here for MORE GREAT SAND PLAY IDEAS

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23 Sensational Sand Play Ideas Your Kids will Love

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Kids of all ages love sensory play, and what better sensory fun than playing with sand? It evokes all kinds of wonderful memories for us all, of lazy days spent playing on beaches! Here are 23 Sensational Sand Play Ideas Your Kids (And You!) will Love.