Weekly Activities - Sand Decoration

Weekly Activities

This week we wanted to create a sand decoration that the children could take home. For the activity we needed some small round trays, vegetable oil, glue, sand and various decorations including colourful stones, shells, leaves, twigs and anything else the children thought would look good.

We started by putting a little vegetable oil in the bottom of the trays and swirling it around with our fingers, noticing the slippery texture of the oil as we did so. We then got a mixing bowl and poured in some PVA glue. We tipped our sand on top of the glue and then it was time to start mixing. We used spoons, sticks and sometimes our hands to thoroughly mix the ingredients together. When it was ready we tipped the mixture into our little trays and patted it down so it was flat and even.

The last step involved encouraging the children to gently push various decorations such as shells, coloured stones, leaves and twigs into the mixture to create some wonderful, colourful creations. Some children did patterns that resembled a face while others just created some lovely collages.

Once the sand decorations had thoroughly dried out (which took a lot longer that we thought!) we were able to gently tip them out of their trays so the children could take them home. This was a lovely activity which helped develop the children's fine motor skills and also got them thinking about shapes, patterns and textures.

Aims and Objectives

• Develop an awareness of their growing sense of self through asserting their likes and dislikes

• Develop gross and fine motor skills

• Explore natural materials

• Explore shapes, patterns and textures

Home Activity

It doesn't need to be summer to enjoy playing with sand on a beach! Play pit sand is cheap and readily available from DIY stores and is a versatile resource that can be put to endless different uses. A sand table (or sand pit) by itself will provide plenty of opportunity for open-ended play, but there are lots of other ways in which you can tap into the fact that children are naturally drawn to sand.

Follow the link to an article on the First Discoverers website that further explains the ideas listed below: First Discoverers - sand play ideas and activities

1. The Sand Basics

2. Treasure Hunt

3. Imaginative Play: Building Site

4. Imaginative Play: Beach Scene

5. Sand Art: Patterns

6. Sand Art: Pictures

7. Sand Art: Decorative Jars

8. Writing In Sand

9. Sand Shakers

10. Sticky, Slimy and Modelling Play Sand