The beach is the environment with most play value for children, so no wonder it's a favourite place to visit! Sand itself is a magical, entrancing and therapeutic substance. The full menu of sand, water, shells, pebbles, plant material, the open sky and weather creates endless possibilities for the combination and interaction of materials. Children can explore, discover, modify, experiment, build and imagine.
Creating a beach-like sand area in your outdoor space will introduce a great deal of stimulus and support for well-being and learning in all areas, for all children, all through the year.
RESOURCES
- Protective clothing such as rainwear, gloves and hats
- water supply, hose and watering cans
- lots of containers in a wide range of styles, shapes and sizes
- jugs, funnels and sieves
- wheelbarrows
- buckets with handles
- long-handled spades and rakes
- brooms and brushes
- child-sized trowels and hand tools
- baking and cooking equipment
- wooden spoons and other kitchen utensils
- camping cups and plates
- ropes and pulleys
- plasterers' tools, small bricks
- pebbles, shells, feathers and other natural materials
- small sparkly items to use as treasure
EXPERIENCES
Children can:
- experience the feel of sand on their bodies by sitting in it and covering their feet and limbs
- remove shoes and socks to enjoy the pleasure of bare feet in the sand
- become lost in their own worlds through the sensory and therapeutic experience of simply handling the material
- explore the properties and behaviour of an interesting substance, finding out 'what is this?', 'what does it do?' and 'what can I do with it?'
- experience how sand changes with the weather and time of year
- fill and empty all manner of containers with dry, moist and wet sand, extending indoor experiences
- carry filled containers to different parts of the outdoor area, experiencing weight and distance
- transport filled containers with bikes, carts and wheelbarrows
- lift and lower filled containers with a simple rope and pulley system
- bury, search for and find objects in the sand
- dig deeply with long-handled tools to create holes and ditches
- mould extensive landscapes with rivers, roads, mountains, tunnels and caves
- use sand as the background for small-world play and pattern making
- initiate a wide range of fantasy and role-play themes, such as treasure-hunting, brick-laying or an archaeological dig
- rake the surface of sand to create interesting patterns
- make a wide variety of marks with sticks and explore other tools and utensils as mark makers
- make footprints in newly raked sand, exploring the effects they can make
- be fascinated by the way water first collects and then drains away as it is added to sand
- make sand and water mixtures, testing out the feel and behaviour of different consistencies
- make all manner of cakes, pies, stews and other 'concoctions'
- accompany this 'food' play with songs such as 'Pat-a-cake' and 'Five cream buns in a bakers' shop'
- practice brick-laying and pointing with sloppy sand
- make intriguing sculptures by dripping very wet sand by hand
- pan for tiny pieces of 'gold' in very wet sand with shallow pans or sieves
- sweep up and return spilled sand into the sand area.
- Jan White is a freelance consultant specialising in outdoor play in the early years and author of Playing and Learning Outdoors: Making provision for high-quality experiences in the outdoor environment (Nursery World/Routledge Essential Guides for Early Years Practitioners)
BOOK BOX
Sandcastle, Mick Inkpen (Hodder Children's Books)
Kipper builds a sandcastle with his friends and finds the finishing touches to his castle in an unlikely place.
The Sand Horse by Ann Turnbull, illustrated by Michael Foreman (Red Fox)
One windy summer day, an artist makes a horse sculpture out of the sand at St Ives. It takes him the whole day, and all the beach people admire it. But when everyone goes in at the end of the day, the Sand Horse can hear the white horses in the surf calling to him and he longs to join them.
Nature Detectives: A Walk on the Beach by Jo Waters (Heinemann)
Part of the Nature Detectives series, which takes the reader on a walk through familiar habitats. Includes magnified images of plants and animals.
