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10 Sandpit Activities to try with Preschoolers

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.

10 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

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117 Responses

  1. That looks like a great sandpit Arlo would love it

  2. 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!!

  3. Wow my nephew would love this

  4. As a kid I used to love the sandbox in our yard. This was so fun to reminisce.

  5. These are fun activities and will the kids busy doing holiday season.

  6. These are some great activities and that fat moose sandpit is pretty neat.

  7. I like these ideas especially the spray paint one for my youngest grandson !

  8. 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.

  9. My grandchildren would have a lot of fun with this.

  10. We don’t have a sandpit, but we are going to the beach today, so we can do all of these things!

  11. One of my friends son is recently having his birthday. I guess I have found something which he would love.

  12. My grandson would love this sandpit.

  13. this looks fantastic! would love to win for my little boy

  14. This would be wonderful for out in garden with my daughter

  15. Awww my nephew would love this

  16. Lovely sandpit – I wish I knew how to keep the sand ina sandpit clean

  17. 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

  18. Fabulous ideas, l love sandpits always reminds you of being at the beach

  19. 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.

  20. Such fun sandpit activities! I can’t wait to share them with my nieces and nephew .. .they’re going to love it!

  21. 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.

  22. When my girls were in preschool, they loved this sort of thing! I wish I could turn back time!

  23. 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.

  24. 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!

  25. This is a great sandpit, I love the cover feature, it would be great for my grandchildren to play in

  26. Brilliant fun for our girls Thankyou

  27. looks like so much fun! I love playig with sand when I was little, I wish I had similar ideas back at my time

  28. Thank you for all the sandpit activity ideas! I organise play sessions for disabled children so these will be great for me to try 🙂

  29. 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 🙂

  30. 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.

  31. My 2 year old would love a sand pit! Thanks for sharing!

  32. Oh boy, sand and kids go together as well as peanut butter and jelly. These are great ideas.

  33. These are such great ideas! I think I want to try hide and seek ! My niece would love this game!

  34. I don’t have little kids anymore but this looks exciting! Kids will surely have fun !

  35. I don’t have little kids anymore but this looks exciting! Kids will surely have fun ! !

  36. 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..

  37. My girls would absolutely love this prize

  38. Really cool activity for sandboxes. And I love that raffle item the sandpit looks great.

  39. My grandson would have hours of fun playing in this.

  40. Something about sands,..it makes me a kid again! Beautiful pictures! 🙂

  41. My 3 year old granddaughter would love this!

  42. 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.

  43. that looks awesome. my kids love playing in the sand. def have to look at this!

  44. Would be a lovely gift for my nephews, fingers crossed

  45. My little one would love this for when he’s a bit older

  46. what a lovely sand pit.fab giveaway x

  47. Hours of fun here I am sure!!

  48. I was running low on ideas so this is a great list. Thanks for the inspiration.

  49. Kids would absolutely love this sandpit

  50. I love the clever, well thought out design – perfect for my grandkids x

  51. This looks so fun. A great summer activity!

  52. 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!

  53. What an amazing sandpit, this would be lovely for my garden, thanks for the chance to win.

  54. This would be amazing for my boy and girl, such a lovely prize xx

  55. I would love to win this for my four year old. He’s been begging me for a sand pit.

  56. Oh yes, the kids so need a sandpit!!

  57. 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 🙁

  58. This sandpit looks super! I love the wooden design, very nice, my little girl Sadie would have great fun with this.

  59. my granddaughter would love this

  60. My niece would love this (and my dog!).

  61. this would make a great preent for my nephew Max

  62. This is a fantastic sandpit – my son would love it! 🙂

  63. My son loves playing in the sand.

  64. Id love to win this for my nephew, he would be in his element in his own sandpit

  65. My grandchildren would love this sandpit

  66. My two grandsons would love this

  67. This would be great for my granddaughter

  68. 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 🙂

  69. I would love this for my son. Thanks for the chance

  70. This is such an amazing prize! My kids would love this.

  71. Perfect for when my grandchildren come to visit

  72. My grandson would love this – thanks for the competition.

  73. Perfect for my 4 year old, hours of fun in the garden!

  74. Aw my niece loves sand so would love this thanks ❤️

  75. Aw my niece loves sand so would love this thanks ❤️ Would keep her happy for hours x

  76. What a wonderful gift for my grandchildren. It looks really well made and they’d have hours of fun

  77. This looks amazing, great for little imaginations

  78. my four grandsons would love this!

  79. My children would have so much fun with this! x

  80. 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.

  81. 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

  82. My godson would love this

  83. This sandpit looks fabulous and would be hours of fun in the garden!

  84. My son and his family are moving into their first house today so this would be perfect for their first garden.

  85. My granddaughters would love this

  86. This would be perfect for Lil’ Peewee – we’ve finally stopped feasting on sand!!

  87. Oh wow, my son would love this!

  88. I have a lil boy with needs that wouild absolutly love this type of sand pit –

  89. A really nice sandpit and having a lid is important when you have pets.

  90. This would be perfect for my daughter Ava

  91. My grandson loves being outdoors, he would love this

  92. Wow – ive not seen one of these pits where the closed position turns into a seating area, very cool!

  93. Looks great for the kids awesome giveaway

  94. My little ones would love it!!

  95. My toddler would adore this 😍

  96. lovely size sand pit for kids to have lots of fun

  97. My boys would love this.

  98. My son and daughter would really enjoy playing with this. Thank you for offering it as a prize.

  99. This would be nice for my nieces. They love being messy.

  100. This would be perfect for my grandson

  101. This would be perfect for my 3 plus i think our labrador would enjoy it too lol xx

  102. My son would have so many hours of fun with this

  103. This would keep the kids occupied for hours

  104. My brother would really enjoy playing with this!

  105. My little girl would reaĺly enjoy playing in this pit.

  106. 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 🏖️

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  • Welcome to Mudpie Fridays where I share our travels. Both here in the UK but also across Europe and further afield. My name is Clare and I am married with two mischievous boys, Charlie aged 11 and Harry who is 7. Read along as we find hidden gems, pack as much holiday time in as possible, while working a 9-5 and find amazing and unusual experiences. Proving travel can be fun, educational and hugely rewarding with kids. Grab a coffee and come and join us on our latest adventures.



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