We are very lucky to have a sand pit in the garden. This means the kids get plenty of opportunities to play in the sand on a regular basis. It is a fantastic medium for play and learning, especially for preschoolers. With Harry going to school in September I am keen to encourage as much learning through play as possible. If you do not have a sandpit then you can make a simple sand table using a tuff spot and some kids play sand to create your own sensory experience. So here are 10 sandpit activities to try with preschoolers.
Table of Contents
Toggle10 Sandpit Activities to try with Preschoolers
Imagnative Play
We are big fans of Imaginative Play and a sandpit is ideal for creating various small world setups. Such as a desert safari scene with play animals. A building site with diggers or a dinosaur world full of small dinosaurs, volcanoes and dinosaur bones. Anything to get their little imaginations going. Imaginative play is a great way for young children to learn about the world around them. And if you play too it will also help with language development.
Mark Making
Sand is brilliant for encouraging little ones to mark make. Even before they can form letters. Straight lines, squiggles, circles whatever they feel like doing. Either with a finger or a twig. This will help to develop those all-important fine motor skills.
Letter Formation
Moving on from the above activity if they show interest and want to then sand is a great medium for letter formation. We are currently teaching Harry how to spell his first name, he really enjoys writing in the sand. More often preferring it to pen and paper.
Hide and Seek
Sand is great for hiding little objects or creating your own treasure hunt. Once they have found them all then you can extend play further with our Toddler Memory Game. We have also played this using a toy metal detector which also helps with understanding different properties.
Pretend to be at the beach
What is there not to love about being at the beach. We have been missing our beach trips. But at least with a sandpit, we can pretend by building sandcastles with small shovels, decorating them and adding little paper flags.
Shell Art
Get creative with Shell Art. We tend to collect shells and interesting looking stones from our travels. They make great materials to create pictures in the sand. Natural materials work best, loose parts play that can turn into works of art. You can add flowers, leaves, sticks, the kids are only limited by their imaginations. Just make sure they are suitable for little hands.
Water Play
You do not have to play with dry sand, a really simple sand play idea, my two love adding water to sand. Just grab a watering can or a squeezy bottle and let them create pictures and have fun. My eldest really enjoys creating moats for his sandcastles using damp sand to create the waterways.
Sand Art Pictures
Using PVA glue paint a picture with glue before sprinkling sand for the sandpit over the top. If you don’t happen to have any PVA glue at home it also works with paint and adds extra texture.
Sand Mudpies
Make Sand Mudpies – we are big lovers of Mudpies here. Making them in the sandpit you can create a whole different pie using props such as pebbles and flowers to decorate. You may even want to set up your own restaurant and make sand pies in all different sizes and lots of wet sand.
Spray Paint Art
The boys love it when we get our homemade spray paints out to make different patterns. They work just as well on sand as they do on paper. Plus they add a new dimension to many of the activities mentioned above.
Some of the benefits of sand play
Playing with sand is a fun way to help with a child’s development on a number of different levels. I have already mentioned a few above
- Fine motor development and hand-eye coordination – with small part play and mark making there’s the perfect opportunity for early years to develop both skills without even realising that they are doing anything other than playing
- Gross motor skills focus on upper body movements which will help the physical development of the upper bodies of children. So lots of digging, building castles and running around all helps develop those skills.
- Problem solving – creating imaginative play around everyday situations can help children identify real-life problems during their play and find ways around them.
- Social skills – especially when playing in small groups encourages social interaction. This in turn will help develop language skills, plus any sort of play that encourages storytelling can help children to learn new vocabulary
Different objects you may want to include in your sand play
- A homemade treasure map
- Bucket of water
- Toy truck or other vehicles
- Wooden spoons
- Small stones and wooden disks
- Old pots and pans in various sizes
- Spray bottles
- Buckets, spades and anything that can be used to dig and build
What are your favourite open-ended play activities?
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10 Sandpit Activities to try with Preschoolers
117 Responses
That looks like a great sandpit Arlo would love it
This is great! I love that it’s universal and cna be used as a bench. What lovely activities there are listed too. Oh I wish I was on a beach now!!
Oooh I wold love to have a sandbox for my nephew, he would have so much fun!
Wow my nephew would love this
As a kid I used to love the sandbox in our yard. This was so fun to reminisce.
These are fun activities and will the kids busy doing holiday season.
These are some great activities and that fat moose sandpit is pretty neat.
I like these ideas especially the spray paint one for my youngest grandson !
These are all great ideas. There’s nothing more fun for kids than playing in a sandbox. I love the closeable design of this one.
My grandchildren would have a lot of fun with this.
We don’t have a sandpit, but we are going to the beach today, so we can do all of these things!
One of my friends son is recently having his birthday. I guess I have found something which he would love.
My grandson would love this sandpit.
this looks fantastic! would love to win for my little boy
My kids would love this.
This would be wonderful for out in garden with my daughter
Awww my nephew would love this
Lovely sandpit – I wish I knew how to keep the sand ina sandpit clean
My kids would love this. They don’t have a sandpit of their own, but its one of their favourite things to do when we go anywhere that has one.x
Fabulous ideas, l love sandpits always reminds you of being at the beach
oh gosh. yes. i remember loving to make mud pies with my brother when we were at the ocean. thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Such fun sandpit activities! I can’t wait to share them with my nieces and nephew .. .they’re going to love it!
I love these sandpit ideas! I used to love playing in the sandbox as a kid. It’s definitely a fun way to have some imagination.
When my girls were in preschool, they loved this sort of thing! I wish I could turn back time!
My niece really loves to play in the sand when we are in beach. They enjoyed it so much making a castle or whatever they like.
I love the one about pretending to be at the breach. I can imagine a sand pit, kids in swim trunks and a water hose. Makeshift beach!
great prize!
This is a great sandpit, I love the cover feature, it would be great for my grandchildren to play in
Brilliant fun for our girls Thankyou
Fab Prize would love one for my grandson
looks like so much fun! I love playig with sand when I was little, I wish I had similar ideas back at my time
Thank you for all the sandpit activity ideas! I organise play sessions for disabled children so these will be great for me to try 🙂
Perfect for my kids!
Nnniiiiccceeeee….I love Shell Art. I have watched so many kids do it and I fell in love with it, ever since then.
I love the activity ideas! My little boy likes playing with sand, but only has a little table so this would be perfect for him 🙂
Hide and seek is so entertaining, especially if there are little treats involved for the one who finds the most hidden treasures in the sand.
My 2 year old would love a sand pit! Thanks for sharing!
Oh boy, sand and kids go together as well as peanut butter and jelly. These are great ideas.
Our boys would love this
These are such great ideas! I think I want to try hide and seek ! My niece would love this game!
I don’t have little kids anymore but this looks exciting! Kids will surely have fun !
I don’t have little kids anymore but this looks exciting! Kids will surely have fun ! !
Sandpit ideas are really very interesting and amazing to do..Thanks for sharing these unique and lovely ideas …Great work..Will love to check these out..
My girls would absolutely love this prize
Really cool activity for sandboxes. And I love that raffle item the sandpit looks great.
My grandson would have hours of fun playing in this.
Something about sands,..it makes me a kid again! Beautiful pictures! 🙂
My 3 year old granddaughter would love this!
That is so cool. Kids really loves to play on the sand while they are in beach vacation. and for sure they will love this sandpit.
that looks awesome. my kids love playing in the sand. def have to look at this!
Would be a lovely gift for my nephews, fingers crossed
My little one would love this for when he’s a bit older
what a lovely sand pit.fab giveaway x
Hours of fun here I am sure!!
I was running low on ideas so this is a great list. Thanks for the inspiration.
Kids would absolutely love this sandpit
I love the clever, well thought out design – perfect for my grandkids x
This looks so fun. A great summer activity!
Perfect for summer holidays, with no holidays booked this year, I would love lots of outdoor activiites to take place. This would be amazing, I can imagine hours spent building castles and creating masterpieces out of sand!
This is gorgeous! x
What an amazing sandpit, this would be lovely for my garden, thanks for the chance to win.
This would be amazing for my boy and girl, such a lovely prize xx
I would love to win this for my four year old. He’s been begging me for a sand pit.
Oh yes, the kids so need a sandpit!!
Would love to win for.my 2 children, I’m currently saving to get something for the Garden as their is nothing at all in the garden for them to play with atm 🙁
This sandpit looks super! I love the wooden design, very nice, my little girl Sadie would have great fun with this.
my granddaughter would love this
My niece would love this (and my dog!).
this would make a great preent for my nephew Max
This is a fantastic sandpit – my son would love it! 🙂
My son loves playing in the sand.
Id love to win this for my nephew, he would be in his element in his own sandpit
My grandchildren would love this sandpit
Thanks great comp
My two grandsons would love this
This would be great for my granddaughter
Aww loving these!
My daughter loves playing in the sand in the garden but she’s got a plastic one her grandparents brought her, when she sits on the edge it keeps tipping up! It’s great entertainment though haha!
This would be fabulous for her 🙂
I would love this for my son. Thanks for the chance
This is such an amazing prize! My kids would love this.
Perfect for when my grandchildren come to visit
My grandson would love this – thanks for the competition.
Perfect for my 4 year old, hours of fun in the garden!
Aw my niece loves sand so would love this thanks ❤️
Aw my niece loves sand so would love this thanks ❤️ Would keep her happy for hours x
What a wonderful gift for my grandchildren. It looks really well made and they’d have hours of fun
Be lovely for my little one
Great p rize!
This looks amazing, great for little imaginations
my four grandsons would love this!
My children would have so much fun with this! x
We currently don’t have a sandpit but the other day we poured some building sand into a tray and both Leo and Daisy played with it almost all afternoon.
Amazing post! That sandpit is just amazing and some great ideas to keep the little one entertained, especially whilst all our groups are not running
My godson would love this
This sandpit looks fabulous and would be hours of fun in the garden!
My son and his family are moving into their first house today so this would be perfect for their first garden.
My granddaughters would love this
This would be perfect for Lil’ Peewee – we’ve finally stopped feasting on sand!!
Oh wow, my son would love this!
I have a lil boy with needs that wouild absolutly love this type of sand pit –
A really nice sandpit and having a lid is important when you have pets.
This would be perfect for my daughter Ava
My grandson loves being outdoors, he would love this
Wow – ive not seen one of these pits where the closed position turns into a seating area, very cool!
Looks great for the kids awesome giveaway
My little ones would love it!!
My toddler would adore this 😍
lovely size sand pit for kids to have lots of fun
My boys would love this.
My son and daughter would really enjoy playing with this. Thank you for offering it as a prize.
This would be nice for my nieces. They love being messy.
This would be perfect for my grandson
This would be perfect for my 3 plus i think our labrador would enjoy it too lol xx
My son would have so many hours of fun with this
This would keep the kids occupied for hours
My brother would really enjoy playing with this!
My little girl would reaĺly enjoy playing in this pit.
Some great Sandpit Activities on this blog, these ideas sound really fun, I like the sandpit idea especially if you don’t like close to a beach 🏖️