Sandbags are loose parts that support heavy work. They pair nicely with water play, mud play, ramp play, and building-based activities. Back in the late 1970’s, we’d make them by filling socks with sand in order to fortify our positions during dirt clod battles. I don’t recall how mothers reacted when they realized every sock in the neighborhood had been filled with sand, but the dirt clod battle was epic and the sandbags did provide a bit of protection.

Turns out socks don’t make great sandbags. The fabric is too porous. The bags pictured in this post were made by Tasha, my wife, out of outdoor upholstery fabric. We closed them with zip ties. These bags were a big improvement over the 1970s knotted gym sock version.

Sandbags At Play

Kids will sort out all kinds of things to do with bags of sand. Toddler’s seem to enjoy just carrying them around, leaving them in random place. Some kids see how far they can throw them. Others use them to support ramps or as blocks.

I’ve seen them used in kid-created games, to alter the movement of water during water play, and as bags of gold during pirate play. And don’t forget how handy they are when a dirt clod battle breaks out.

In the end, kids will figure out what to do with them if you make them available–that’s what makes loose parts so great.

I’ll wrap-up with a pro-tip: Don’t leave wet sandbags in a poorly drained area for too long. The fabric will rot out. I found that placing wet sandbags on old baking cooling racks to dry worked well.

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