Summer, Sun & Sandpits - A Winning Childhood Trio
October 26, 2020Early childhood memories will always include many hours of playing in the sandpit. The world may have changed, but summertime, sunny days and the outdoors are not the same without playpen sand - no matter the size of your suburban garden or urban outdoor area.
Bags of sandpit sand or washed silica sand become the easiest way of keeping children happily outdoors for hours. Playing in the sand is also a necessary development and learning tool for young children.
A plastic ‘shell’, a small blow-up pool or even a large galvanized bucket, filled with playpen silica sand can become a DIY sandpit, transforming a child’s little world. You may not be able to get to the seaside to build sandcastles, but we can bring the experience and the sand to you. It’s all about building childhood memories - one sandpit at a time.
Reasons to get children to play creatively in a sandpit:
Physical development
A child’s fine and gross motor development take place in a sandpit. As little ones dig in the child-friendly washed/silica sand and make shapes and then add twigs, flowers or worms to their sand creations, or drive toy cars along sandy roads and through sand tunnels, finger muscle and control are being exercised and strengthened.
Hand-eye coordination is developed as they scoop sand with a spade into a bucket. And as they squat or sit cross-legged in the sand, their lower leg muscles are being strengthened. The digging, scooping, pouring, pushing and lifting actions involved in sand play are all further developing gross motor skills.
Sensory and social development
As kids spend time playing with sand, they are exploring their sense of touch as silica playpen sand falls through their fingers and as it becomes squishy when water is added. Their tactile sense discovers how the temperature of sand changes and they will learn how their bodies relate to the sandpit space and objects around them. They also discover how to play alongside others in the sandpit - all necessary skills for childhood growth and development.
Cognitive development
Engaging in sand play is engaging in learning and problem-solving - it is the magical combination of incidental learning while having fun. Without them even realising it, a child in a playpen of sand is learning number concepts: 1 sandcastle, 2 mud cakes (‘1 for me and 1 for you’) etc. When 1 sandcastle is knocked down, there is 1 less. Using buckets and measuring scoops, they are being exposed to volume and capacity.
And then there are scientific concepts at play: how sand and water interplay and change. As children play in the sand, their language skills are slowly developing and their vocabulary is increasing as they interact with each other and a world of discovery found in a sandpit.
A sandpit is a childhood ‘toy’ that just keeps on giving. It is a blank canvas for childhood creativity and imagination. If you have little ones running around, then your garden or outdoor space, no matter how small, deserves to have one.
STEP Building Supplies
At STEP Building Supplies we understand the value and importance of children playing in the sand. The silica sand in our 40kg playpen sandbags is washed multiple times, making it safe, hygienic and child-friendly.
If you are wondering how much sand you will need, here's an easy way to calculate: for every 1m2 you will need 3x 40kg bags. If your sandpit 3m x 2m (6m2), then you will need about 18-20 bags.