Activities

Place familiar objects, such as plastic animals, balls or small toys in a container filled with sand. As the children dig in the container, name the objects that they find and encourage them to do the same.

Place sand and/or water in a sensory table. Provide a variety of tools for the children to use in the sand/water such as scoops, cups, spoons, sand molds and/or plastic animals.

During outdoor time, designate an area of the sandbox for this activity or fill an outdoor sensory table with sand. Provide different sizes of cleaned containers such as yogurt cups, margarine tubs or small milk cartons with the tops cut off.

Provide toys and small shovels or sturdy spoons for the children to dig holes in the sandbox. Bury small toys in the sand and encourage the children to dig to find them.

Bury several small toys in the sand table. Provide a variety of tools such as spatulas, scoops and spoons so the children can dig and scoop the sand and retrieve the toys. Encourage the children to try different methods of digging and scooping.

During outdoor time, provide sand wheels or other similar toys for the sandbox. The children can experiment with different materials, such as damp sand or fine gravel, noting the changes in how each behaves.

While outside, use a funnel or cup to pour a small amount of dry sand over the infant's hands. Provide close supervision as the infant claps his/ her hands or places his/her hands on the ground in the remaining sand.

Secure a sock at the cuff or ribbed opening with an empty duct tape roll to hold the sock open so pouring in sand is easier. Talk about the texture of the sand and how it sticks to things. Pick up the sock and feel how heavy sand can be.

Color alphabet pasta using alcohol and food coloring. Spread out to dry. Add the letters to the sensory center sand table or tub and give children magnifying glasses and tweezers. Challenge them to find all the letters in their names.

Tape pictures of school locations to blocks and place them in a sand tray. Ask the children to use their fingers to draw a path from the classroom to the playground, for example. As they progress, have them draw a path from school to home.

Cover a shallow tray or rimmed cookie sheet with sand or coarse cornmeal. Show the children how to use their fingers to make marks in the sand and how to smooth it over when done.

Provide trays filled with materials of different textures such as sand or shaving gel. Do this in the writing center and encourage the children to practice writing familiar words and letters in the materials.

After reading Shoe La La by Karen Beaumont, show pictures of different types of shoes and introduce new vocabulary words, such as sandal, pump, wedge, loafer and sneaker. After discussing the new words, play a graphing game.

During outdoor time, provide dolls and action figures of various ethnicities for children to use during imaginative play in the outdoor sandbox.

Remove typical sandbox toys like shovels and rakes and replace them with spoons and paper towel rolls. Encourage the children to use the new tools to scoop and dig in the sand.

This game is similar to “Hide and Seek.” During outdoor time, the child who is “it” hides first. Everyone else then tries to find “it.” When someone finds “it,” they hide with “it” in the same spot.

Do a picture walk of the book I Can Save the Earth!: One Little Monster Learns to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle by Alison Inches. Collect items around the classroom that can be reused and recycled.

Read Little Critter: Just Saving My Money by Mercer Mayer. Talk to children about earning money to save for a special toy. Discuss things the children would like to save money for.

During greeting time or group time, recite this fingerplay: “10 little fingers, 10 little toes; two little ears and one little nose. Two little eyes that shine and glow, and two little lips that say ‘hello'.

Hey! Hi! Howdy! Yo!

There are many ways to say hello!

Wave your hand. Nod your head.

Smile real big or wink instead.

Blow a kiss. Tip your hat. 

Shake your hands. Give a pat.