How it Plays

Half-fill a shallow container (see suggestions below) with dry, fine-textured, sterilized sand. (You can use another material, like birdseed, but the advantage of sand is that it can be mixed with water.) Put the sandbox on a low table, or spread out a beach towel and place it directly on the floor. Arrange a few sand toys nearby. Then let your imaginations loose! Dig a hole, bulldoze a road, fill a dump truck, make a mountain, bury a treasure or some dinosaur bones for your child to find, dig a river for his boats, create an island, or mold a sand castle for him to squish!

What You'll Need

Learning and Growing

Children are naturally drawn to sand and to exploring its unique, open-ended properties. Playing with sand helps promote manual dexterity as children use their hands to scoop, sift, pour, and mold. An indoor sandbox also sets the stage for pretend play with the addition of props and accessories like toy animals, people, and vehicles.