Sand

I recently moved from the Midwest to live at the beach along the Gulf of Mexico. Since the move, my love of sand as a loose part has grown deeper. It is one of those loose parts human children have probably played with for as long as there have been human children. And why not? It’s a delightful substance. Sure, extracting it from hair, pockets, and various bodily nooks and crannies may be annoying and time-consuming, but sand has a lot to offer as a learning tool.

Learning

On the negative side, it can be messy. But on the positive side of things, it has so much to offer little learners. First off, it’s scritchy-scratchy texture makes it great for sensory play–making it a big help in sensory integration. It’s also easy to scoop and haul, making it a wonderful loose part for supporting heavy work. From trajectory and scattering to enveloping and transforming, it is also supportive of many play schemas. It can also be shaped, molded, and manipulated–making it a valuable medium for self-expression and creativity.

But wait, there’s more. Playing with it also supports language, social/emotional, and self-regulation learning. It also holds abundant potential for STEM play and experimentation.

I bit of sand in a sensory bin isn’t as beneficial as a mountain of sand. Small-scale sand experiences put a lot of limitations on how the sand can be used. Heavy work, for example, is nearly impossible in bin-based sand play.

Rules

Back in my family child care days, we had a Keep The Sand In The Sandbox rule for a while, but broke up with that rule and made the billions of little particles free-range. We noticed a huge and welcome increase in the variety of ways sand was used. Not restricting it to a 10 by 10 foot area made it a much looser loose part. The size of the mess, by the way, didn’t really change. It just meant we had to refresh our supply of the stuff every 18 months instead of every 2 years. Reviewing and updating your rules may be worth the time and effort.