How many of us look back to summer days with warm memories of
sand castles on the beach? With happy hands we paddled the
walls and built up the bridges. We filled cups with sand and
poured them upside-down and filled them again and again. Oh,
the pure joy of measuring and pouring and forming cones that
kept their shape forever, until a wave of salt water and
seaweed swerved into them and returned the sand to its
innocuous place under the sun on the beach...
In our hands, the sand was willing to do our bidding. The
sand recorded our footprints; it took the form of bowls and
rivers to hold water for us. It challenged us to guess how
many grains were on the beach if we could even imagine such a
number! When the sun set over the water somewhere far away,
the sand on the beach dimmed from our concentration and we
were called to hurry to the car and head home. We went home
relaxed and happily worn out from the day.
Building a sand castle is recreation from the good earth.
What is it about this simple pleasure that calms and focuses
a child?
We moved into a new neighborhood and are the happy recipients
of a large, built-into-the-ground sandbox, a home improvement
gift from our former tenants. They used it for their little
ones. I didn't expect to see my children using it; they are
not small. I expected to wait till the happy day when I had
grandchildren. I was advised to fill it up with dirt because
of cat problems but so far, no cat problems. And in the
meantime, I witnessed an unforeseen surprise.
Relaxing -- Non-Pressured Time
One day, looking out of the living room window to the porch,
I noticed one of my children with a spade, silently scooping
up small amounts of sand. Steadily working, one half hour
later he had transformed the sandbox into a labyrinth of
roads, tunnels, hills and walls dotted with flags and tiny
toy cars. On other spontaneous occasions, this child would
come home in the afternoon and relax into the sandbox again,
silently scooping up sand and unwinding into the rhythm of
the spade and shovel. With or without much thinking and no
outside pressure or deadlines, he was constructing more
castles or parks or roads or buildings for people. There was
city planning, a city of buildings used for the community's
needs, complete with a shul, a yeshiva and a hospital.
Labyrinths of roads connected all. Anything seemed possible
in the sand. The young boy returned into the house, quietly
beaming and inwardly relaxed. He made his transition from a
day of learning to return to his home. He did this a few
times and then, just as quietly, forgot about the sandbox.
MATERIALS
Children usually come up with their sand play ideas for the
sandbox or the beach by themselves. Give them a cup or a
bucket and a spoon or small shovel and a dull stick and
they're on their own. Have a container of water handy to
dampen the sand to keep it workable. Children are happy with
any of the following tools: a large-weave flour sifter, a
deep bowl and various sized aluminum cans, measuring cups and
spoons, a tongue depressor or ice cream sticks.
Mold, Model and Shape
Pack damp sand into container. Turn container over quickly.
Tap sides and lift out molded shape. Repeat, using other
containers as desired. Stick in bits of leaves, shells,
branches, wood, rocks, tiles, seaweed and toys. Build, design
and shape as desired. The waves and wind will erode the
masterpieces and remind us of the impermanence of all man's
work in this world except for his Torah and
mitzvos.
Drawing in Damp Sand
Choose large enough and wet area of sand. Draw with a stick,
broom handle, toothbrush, rake, fork, comb. Draw and rub out
as desired. Make decorations or landmarks with rocks, twigs,
leaves, shells etc.
Two people can `draw together,' play tic-tac-toe or hangman
on the sand surface.
A Nature Sculpture
Concentrate on making small single objects rather than a
large sandcastle. Use cardboard boxes, tubes, pieces of
fabric, pebbles, rocks, feathers, bits of grass etc.
Recipe for Indoor Sand-Clay
Fish, starfish and boats are made from sand that is bonded
into a rock-like consistency with cornstarch.
Materials:
One cup of fine sand
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup boiling water
Directions:
Mix sand and cornstarch in top of double boiler on
stovetop.
Pour in boiling water. Mix well.
Cook until thick. Add more hot water if necessary.
Cool before handling.
Shape objects: fish, starfish, boats, shell creations.
Dry in air for several days or in oven at 275 degrees F (140
C).
