Why Is Playing In Sand Good For Kids – 10 Things Your Child Is Learning In The Sandpit

You may have some memories of when you were younger going to the beach and playing in the sand. Or it could be of you playing in the sandpit at a park. These memories are usually always fond ones.

Remembering them instantly sparks joy for a lot of us, as we remember how freeing it was in our childhood. But why is playing in sand good for kids? Well in actual fact we have 10 things your child is learning in the sandpit which we bet you didn’t know about!

As parents, we might be a little more hesitant to let our children play in the sand. Whether that be because we don’t want to find sand all around our houses for months to come or are just worried about our children playing in the sand. 

Well, playing in the sand is good for our kids and we shouldn’t let the fear of the mess stop us from experiencing the same joy we did. 

So to prove that playing in the sand is good for your children, here are ten things your child is learning in the sandpit. 

Why Is Playing In Sand Good For Kids – 10 Things Your Child Is Learning In The Sandpit

1. Capacity And Volume

We’ve all made sandcastles at some point in our lives so we know the process. You fill a bucket with wet sand and tip it over.

Though, did you know that when our children are filling the buckets they are actually learning about capacity and volume? 

They are able to learn this by filling sand in different-sized buckets or even learning that the same-sized buckets contain the same amount of sand.

Eventually, they are able to work out how many scoops of sand it takes to fill the bucket. All of this learning and to them it feels like play. 

This skill is a great example of why playing in sand is good for kids and how your child is learning in the sandpit. 

2. Social Skills

Whether your child is playing in the sand at the beach, the sandpit at school, or at home they are able to improve and develop their social skills.

There are plenty of opportunities for your child to develop these skills by simply discussing how to share buckets and spades or deciding who is making what part of the sandcastle.

They might find they are disagreeing about these things, which is how they learn to negotiate with each other. 

3. Hand-Eye Coordination

Eye-hand or hand-coordination is an important skill for our children to develop. Kids are able to improve this skill by playing in the sandpit by building sandcastles and filling buckets.

What we might see as a simple task can be quite difficult for children. Simply shoveling a heavy spade of sand and trying to put it in a bucket can be a difficult task for them, but they are improving their hand-eye coordination when they try.

There is nothing quite like watching a child who keeps missing the bucket finally fill it with sand.  

Hand-eye coordination is a skillset that is greatly improved by sand play and is a great example of why playing in sand is good for kids and how your child is learning in the sandpit. 

4. Problem Solving Skills

When playing in the sand there are so many problems for children to solve. This might be trying to solve disagreements with other children, taking measurements, or solving simple math problems, they all happen in the sandpit.

When their sandcastle doesn’t hold its shape, they have to rethink the ratio of sand and water. Or even learning how to stack sandcastles when it falls in front of them.

These are all hands-on experiences and real-life problems that they learn to gradually solve in the sandpit. Playing in the sand teaches children to solve and face their problems rather than avoid them. 

5. Creative Skills

Playing in the sandpit allows children to be creative. They have to use their imagination to be entertained. Children are naturally creative and this is elevated in the sandpit.

They are able to build and make things out of nothing. The great part of this is that once they do build what they have imagined they feel a sense of accomplishment and you can see their confidence grow.

Not only that but their imagination gets bigger and they strive to create new things. 

Playing in sand is not only good for kids to learn traditional skills, playing in sand is also good for kids for them to hone their creative learning skills in the sandpit.

6. Fine Motor Development

Fine motor development is when we look at developing small muscles like the ones in our fingers. Developing these motor skills allows your child to grip and hold small objects like a pencil.

When playing with sand children are able to improve and work on developing the muscles in their fingers. This is done by patting sand into buckets, digging with their hands, or even writing in the sand. 

7. Gross Motor Development

Gross motor development is the development of the larger muscles in our bodies. These also are improved when your kids are playing with sand. They have to lift heavy buckets of sand, dig the sand, push buckets of sand over, and even pour water into the sand.

This requires a lot of effort, so playing in the sand helps to strengthen these muscles. They are using their whole body to achieve goals and finish tasks. 

8. Improved Language And Vocabulary

We’ve already discussed how playing in the sandpit helps to improve their social skills. Well with improved social skills comes new language and vocabulary opportunities.

Whether it is discovering the name of a new activity, trying to articulate what they are thinking, or expressing a new emotion they can learn new words to help with this. Playing in the sandpit is a great way to have your children learn whilst enjoying themselves. 

9. Thinking Logically

When playing in the sandpit, children are able to learn simple mathematical equations in a real-life situation. They might learn to make enough sandcastles so that everyone has one.

They might realize that one got knocked down and so they have one less than before. They also learn how many scoops of sand it takes to fill a bucket.

Even if your child doesn’t completely understand the concept of numbers, playing in a sandpit will help them learn about the number of objects. This helps them be prepared for learning about numbers at school. 

The sandpit is a great way to link playing in sand and having fun, with how your child is learning new skills in the sandpit. 

10. Discovering Science

You might think that playing in the sand and learning about science are completely separate things, but they actually go hand in hand.

Through playing in sandpits and building sandcastles, children learn that wetting sand makes it hold its shape. They learn that digging creates a hole. Through digging they learn that sand can be wet on top, but dry underneath.

They learn that sand is cold when you dig it. They get to experience so many new concepts that will help their understanding of the world around them. 

Final Thoughts

Allowing your kids to play in the sand is the perfect way to watch them develop skills and grow as people. It is the best way to see them have fun but also learn new things.

It can also help them connect to their environment. There are so many benefits to having your child play in the sand. The best benefit is seeing them be happy. 

Not only is playing in sand good for kids, it is actually shown that through sandplay, your child is learning new skills in the sandpit. And that’s what we call a winner!

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