Sand Art

In an effort to think "warm thoughts," and to integrate an ocean/beach/summer theme, we have been working with sand in different areas of the classroom.  There are different types of sands for spooning and pouring in Practical Life and shells for counting in Math.  I thought it would be fitting for the children to be able to work with sand and bits of shell in an artistic, creative way as well.  The following activity is set up at a stationary table in order to maximize the sensorial element of the lesson - I wanted the children to simply not have to worry about carrying the materials to the workspace...they are able to do that with other lessons throughout the classroom.  Here, it is all about the tactile experience with the sand types while expressing creativity and self. 


From left to right:  Dark colored tag board and smaller sized cream colored oak tag in shell-shaped napkin holder.  Small jar with white pencil for writing name on dark paper.  Container of glue with brush for application.  Three-sectioned, clear container with three varying types of sand:  coarse, medium, fine.   White cover of shoe box (for carrying the work to drying rack when the child finishes).  The  newsprint protects the workspace.

First, the child chooses one piece of dark colored paper, writes their name with the white pencil, and turns it over placing slightly to the right of the workspace.  Then, they take one piece of cream colored oak tag  and place it to the left of the dark paper. 

The child then applies glue to the light paper and turns it over onto the dark paper, creating a frame for the art work.  Next, the child applies glue to various places on the cream paper.  Now, they are ready to start exploring and creating with the different types of sand!



When the child in finished, they place their work onto the white lid and carry it over the drying rack.  Once the glue is dry, the excess sand is shaken off into a box.  Here is what they look like hanging in our hallway:

 Happy, warm, "beachy" thoughts!