Children of the Sand

A sandbox can be an easy thing to build. It is much easier to buy one. A simple sandbox probably runs between 20 to 60 dollars. Then it needs sand. Sand can be bought in most retail or hardware stores. It can also be taken from the beach. That adds to the fun. Beach sand is the best texture of sand to use. Once the sandbox is ready, it must be put in a shady place. The kids won't last long playing in direct sun. Under a tree is ideal.

Once the box is all set the fun begins. Children in my era, many decades ago, would make sandcastles. Today the kids have more imagination than that. Today the sand is used for a ton of things. Watching the kids play this last weekend, I witnessed 4 different uses for the sandbox. I will attempt to explain the different things going on, and tell why it is important in the growth of kids.

1. Dolls- The first thing in the sand was the dolls, complete with accessories. The children play different roles with the dolls. The little boy was daddy, the girls played mom. This simple play time helps the kids develop a better understanding of what the parents do. It puts them in the role of adults. The dolls were out of the sand in 5 minutes.

2. Cars- The sand was quickly transformed into a racetrack. The small cars came out in force. Sand was moved in a way to form an oval track. The children raced around the sandbox, pushing the cars around the track. When someone was tired, they made a pit stop. After a make believe fill-up, the cars were put back out. I joined as a commentator. Finally the smallest child was declared the Sandbox 500 winner. The kids enjoyed the racing. It is important not to focus the kids on winning. At this point in their lives, it's good not to take winning serious. They think first place and last place mean the same. I wasn't going to ruin the party.

3. Soldiers- Once the race ended, the war began. The sand was loaded with toy soldiers. The soldiers were dropped in by parachute, flown in by planes, and even thrown in like grenades. The imagination of children is really brought out when they can act things out. The sand is an added tool, the desert. The war ended when all the soldiers were buried. Now it was time for something new.

4. Equipment- Heavy equipment had to be brought in, to rebuild after the war. Toy bulldozers, dump trucks, and cranes, filled the sand. The kids changed the sand into their own city. Once bored with the machines, a fire truck joined the sands. All the kids love to play firemen. This is a good lead into explaining fire safety to the kids. They listen better when they have visual tools. During the fire safety talk, the local cat walked by. This ended the fire talk.

Now that the kids are bored with the sandbox, it is clean up time. The kids don't like this activity. It usually takes a clever bribe to get all the toys from the sandbox, to the respective places where they belong. The most important thing to remember is the sandbox cover. The cover protects the sand from the rain. The cover did not make it on this weekend. I will take the ultimate blame for that. With the cover off, the sandbox, turned into a litter box.