With the days slowly warming up, we are spending more and more time outdoors. Since we don’t yet have a sandbox in our backyard, I thought it might be fun to do our own little version of a sandbox. The kids and I brainstormed and came up with an outdoor sensory box using sand~ a beach themed sensory box!
I bought a bag of sand from the hardware store for just under $5 and found a shallow plastic container. After we poured the sand into the container, Lucy helped me search our house for items that would be fun to use in the sensory box. We found some shovels and sifters and a little plastic sand pail to add. Then we put in some large stones from our yard and a few sea shells we had found the last time we were at the beach. Finally we threw in some sea glass we’d been collecting over the last few months. (You can also buy sea glass and sea shells at craft stores.)
The kids were thrilled! Although we live within walking distance to the beach, there’s just something special about having your own little beach at home. They spent quite a bit of time sifting for sea glass, shoveling and piling up sand.
A few days later we decided to add water and make it more of a tide pool. This added a whole new element to their play. Soon dinosaur bones were being excavated from beneath the ocean floor and waves were crashing all around (mainly caused by Theo’s enthusiasm!)
This has definitely been one of our favorite sensory boxes so far!
Some of Our Favorite Beach and Tide Pool Books
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