Most young children love sand play so incorporating sand into your literacy play can be a fun way of engaging preschoolers and early primary aged children with letters – be they the letters of their name or the letters of words associated with their learning at school. I would suggest choosing a previously unused cat litter tray or other similar shallow tray to contain the sand.
3 Sand Tray Letter Fun Activities
1. Try hiding the letters of your child’s name, a sight word or spelling word in the sand tray for a letter fun treasure hunt. Magnetic letters or the letters borrowed from an alphabet puzzle would work equally as well for this activity.
2. Use your finger or a popstick to form letter shapes (or sight words or spelling words) in slightly damp sand. Drawing pictures in the sand is another fun way of developing fine motor skills as well.
3. This activity was completely of Immy’s creation. Use coloured matchsticks to create letter shapes on the damp sand. I am not sure if it is the contrast on materials but she was playing with the matchsticks and sand tray for ages. It is also a fun way to play with pattern making and shapes.
Tip: If you would like to encourage your child to be responsible for any unintentional sand spills, place a dustpan and hand broom alongside the sand tray for a quick tidy up once they are done.
Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
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