It's amazing that babies seem to be born with a liking for playing with sand. Even shy babies can have a blast in the sandbox. Sand is a gift from nature to children, and this natural material is by no means inferior to expensive toys. Perhaps it is the closest contact with nature that fascinates babies so much that they don't want to leave.
Sand play: Little Movers
1. Digging Sand
Provide your child with a small plastic shovel and let him dig into the sand. Babies can start with basic actions, using the little shovel to scoop up sand and pour it into a bucket; then dump the sand out of the bucket. These actions help exercise hand precision and muscle strength, forming an initial understanding of the relationship between the shovel, the bucket, and the sand. They can also learn about depth concepts and observe how the color of the sand changes with depth.
2. Tunneling
As long as water is added, the ways to play with sand become endless. For hygiene reasons, parents can use a measuring cup filled with cool boiled water and add it to the sand with their child. Shape the wet sand into two small hills and create small caves on the hills. Try to pass fingers through the caves and hook each other's fingers. Parents can extend this game further, such as passing a pen or a toy animal through the cave and creating an adventure story.
3. Transporting
Use a toy truck with a dump bed to transport sand from one place to another. This helps improve the child's balance and enhances their sense of direction.
4. Building Roads
Dig the sand to form a small road and teach the baby to drive toy cars along this path. Digging and building roads helps children understand knowledge about depth changes.
5. Making Water Channels
This game is somewhat similar to drawing in the sand. First, lay a thin layer of sand on the lid of a box, then dig out a Z-shaped or S-shaped small river channel. Children can place boats in the river channel and create their own water adventure stories.
Sand is a material that can be shaped, with many variations and creative possibilities. Different methods of playing with sand will produce different effects. Parents might as well let their children process, build, and play with sand according to their wishes. In the process of sand play, babies are free from constraints and pressure, allowing them to imagine and create freely and repeatedly.