Materials
Greeting cards
Scissors
Craft sticks
Contact cement
Instructions
1. Wet the sand in your outdoor sand area. Squeeze a clump of it in your hand,
and then open your hand to see if the sand will hold a shape. Add more
water until the sand holds a shape but is not soggy.
2. Show the children how to fill a container with wet sand, then turn it over to
un-mold the container.
3. Encourage the children to build a "sand city" with the structures they make.
Remind them that shells, pebbles, and so on make fine windows and doors.
4. Let them bring small cars, trucks, dolls and other washable classroom items
into their city.
5. Provide whiskbrooms for brushing sand off of clothes before the children go
inside.
More to do
Home-School Connection: Take digital pictures of the sand city to send home in
your class's newsletter.
Math: Encourage the children to make and un-mold shapes in order from
smallest to largest.
Science: On another day, don't wet the sand. Let the children attempt to make
and un-mold shapes with dry sand. Discuss the results. Guide the children to
discover why the sand won't hold its shape. Support their efforts to solve the
problem by adding water.
Snack and Cooking: Serve gelatin that was prepared with juice in place of half
of the water. Make this in small molds. Let each child un-mold her own snack.
