A childrens sandbox is one of the best activity centers you can give to a child and is a great tool for home education. Sandboxes can provide infinite possibilities for your childs imagination. The sand offers a landscape for your child to explore anyone of their little interests, be it dinosaurs or animals, trucks, transformers, bugs or sea creatures you name it. The sandbox is also a magnificent tool for early childhood education. They are ideal for backyards, daycare centers and provide a landscape for dozens of kindergarten games.
Children need little encouragement to get their imaginations rolling, but there are some things as parents we can do to help them have even more fun. Besides the obvious necessary toys in the sandbox, such as toy buckets, shovels, rakes etc. try letting them play with other toys such as their little rubber dinosaurs, or their toy kitchen stuff. One fun idea is to fill a small bucket with water and then burry it right up to the rim and let the kids pretend its a pond or a sink even a great ocean or pit of lava. Another fun thing to do is to create a game such as find the treasure, where one kid turns around while the other hides the treasure then acting as an angry pirate the other kid tries to find the lost treasure. Perhaps you can watch a video on archeology then go outside and carefully unveil some ancient pottery from the sandbox using small shovels and paintbrushes.
A Childrens Sandbox can be instrumental in early childhood development. It offers them an environment in which they are in control. Acting as king of the castle, Salton of the Sandbox or a powerful digger or whatever they play they control the environment and their characters. This is one place in their world where even mommy and daddy do what they say. Its important for a kids early childhood development to experience several types of interaction during play. That is, playing by their self, playing with an adult and playing with other children.
When a child plays by their self they stretch their imagination greatly, creating characters, story lines, voices, and entire worlds that can appear out of nowhere and can just as easily be destroyed by the very wave of their little magic all powerful hand. This free play gives a child a place to express their self while feeling total secure and in control. This type of play can really be a delight and joy to watch as your child will say the cutest stuff, such as taking his Optimus Prime and T-Rex and making them shake hands saying, peace be with you. But be careful not to be caught smiling or laughing as this level of playing can be intense for them and seeing you see them may make them mad.
Playing with a parent makes a child so happy. Try not to be afraid to get a little sand on yourself, kids love it when their parents sit down and play in their sandbox with them. This type of playing really adds to their sense of security and control in their sandbox, mainly because the parent usually does whatever the kids says. What parent takes the T-Rex instead of the Brontosaurus, when their kid wants to be T-Rex? Think about it, you play dead when they tell you to die, you eat whatever pretend food they give you and you are ever encouraging and loving. This type of play is important for self esteem and confidence building.
Playing with a friend is very beneficial and helps to form a childs social behavior. This is where they learn to share, to think of others as equally important as they are. This is where they learn empathy, and respect, jealousy and bullying. The sandbox offers the perfect environment for children to play in all these ways and its openness makes it perfect for parents to keep an eye or their children making sure they are playing nice.
Childrens Sandboxes are so much more then a place to keep the kids busy. They are a safe wonderful environment providing children with an outlet to express themselves through imagination and interaction. It is a place for them to apply everything they have learned in their short little lives. A perfect tool to support a kids education from home. Watching your child play in a sandbox is truly a delight and comfort.
When choosing your Sandbox keep in mind that it is a part of the landscape in your own yard. Do you want a green turtle sandbox or a pirate ship sandbox? Look around, some sandboxes were actually designed to be raised garden boxes, and after a child grows up can still be used as such. Remember the sandbox is for your child, but you too have to look at it everyday. Your child will be happy with a space to call their own, make sure you are comfortable with how the sandbox look in your yard. Also before installing do a little bit of brainstorming about where your are going to put the sandbox. Sandboxes once filled up are quite heavy and some are impossible to move. Think about where you would like to sit or what you would like to get done as they play in their sandbox. Perhaps youd like to wash the dishes, make sure the sandbox can be seen through you kitchen sink window. If you would like to read a book on the deck, or fire up the barbeque make sure the sandbox is in site. Also keep in mind the not every grain of sand is going to stay in the sandbox, so unless you want sand in you living room, dont put it to close to the entrance to your house (make sure your kid stomps his feet, or shuffles in the grass a little before coming in).