Sand Play Development: How Sandpits Boost Children's Learning

Sand play development is a fascinating topic that has been studied by researchers for many years. Sand play is a simple yet effective way to promote children's development in four key areas: coordination, teamwork and cooperation, creativity, and emotional and psychological development.

In this article, we will explore the many benefits of sand play development and discuss how you can encourage sand play at home. We will also provide tips for choosing the right sandpit for your child and creating a safe and stimulating sand play environment.

Now sand play has grown into a million pound industry and it is common in most playgrounds and gardens. But why?

We have found sand play to have a huge impact on a child's interaction, coordination, and artistic creation. Sand itself is a fascinating material for a child, it can be made hard or it can be left soft, It can flow or it can be solid, sand itself offers endless possibilities for a child's imagination.

So how can it help my little one develop? Click on the links below to see just how magic sand can really be!

The four main areas sand can play a part in are:

• Coordination
• Teamwork and cooperation
• Creativity
• Emotional and Psychological Development

That's right, playing with sand from a young age can help with your child's hand eye coordination. By using tools to manipulate the sand and create structures it helps develop the creative aspect of your child's brain. It can also teaching early muscle movements.

Another great way to help coordination is to use a stick or pole to draw in the sand. You can start to teach letters, words or even drawing in their hour of play and once you are finished it can all be cleared to start again.

Playing in the sandpit is never a solo activity. Children love to play, create and explore together and creating with sand is a great way to pull all three together. When children work as a team to create sand sculptures it teaches teamwork, cooperation and communication.

Sand play development can be a brilliant way to socialise as a child. As children start to create scenarios through the stimulation of their imagination they will take on roles and assign jobs. They will be learning basic teamwork while using vital imagination play. This will help with their social interaction, emotional bonding and eventually these sills will move out of the sandpit and into their everyday life.

Sand is a truly unique substance there is an endless possibility of creation with sand. To be introduced to such a simple yet extensive material at a young age can leave your child's mind exploring these endless possibilities. It can help expand the mind, the imagination and give them a whole new medium to work with (away from the standard paper/crayons).

Creating patterns and structures through sand play development will get the creative side of their brain working. The more they play the more they expand their artistic skills. It will also give a whole new dimensions to play with - literally. Creating in three dimensions is totally different to drawing or colouring in just two. It gives them a spatial awareness of their surrounds as well as a whole new artistic lease of life.

As outrageous as it seems sand play development can help the psychological and emotional development of most children. Sand play will also help your child's development as much as play in general does. Playing has been vital to every child's development and it has never been more important to encourage different aspects of play with technology taking over many of them.

Two areas important in play are building self-confidence and esteem and experimenting with various emotions. Children can build conflict resolution skills through playing with others and this is extremely important for development. Sandpits can be a solo activity and this is equally as important for building self-confidence and self-worth as they are not relying on another person in this moment. To find out more about the benefits of general play click here.

All four of these areas are well covered through playing in sandpits. It may seem simple enough, and they have been around for a long time but there is more than meets the eye to playing in sand.

If you are looking for a sandpit for your child, then we recommend this range of sandpits here - they come in all shapes and sizes and some interesting and practical designs too (such as the train, car or the picnic table which doubles up as, you guessed it, a table!)