Sand Castles in the Sand

The following activity is from the Sea & Sand Unit of Study, Early Learning Success curriculum, © Early Learning Success, LLC. The Unit of Study is available at http://earlylearningsuccess.net/product/sea-and-sand/

Activity: Sand Castles in the Sand

Directions Materials Needed Getting Ready  Ask if children have ever made sandcastles or  Pictures of castles Setting the stage for snow castles excited and engaged  What was fun about making them? learning  Talk about what you might see or bring when you go to the beach Activity PS-K  Box lid for each child Directions should be  Children paint a beach scene on the inside of a  Tempera paint/brushes adapted to fit the box lid (or make one from tag board and  Paint shirts individual skills of folding/gluing side edges). This may just be  Permanent sand – recipe children sand and sky! below

 Let dry  Flat sand castle form  Mix the permanent sand by following the (often found with sand directions below toys) or small cups  Children form their permanent castle on paper  Shells, rocks, sea glass plate and let dry, they can add shells, pebbles, (can be purchased at craft sea glass etc. before dry stores)  When dry, set sand castle onto box lid for a  Jewels complete beach scene  Other decorative items School-Age  Children follow steps 1-4 above except they make their castle from different size cups and containers, or free-form a castle  Their beach scene should also include a few more details  When sand castle is dry, they can use spoons and plastic knives to carve details into their castle  Place castle on cardboard scene Reflection Things to reflect on Extending the  What happens when you make a sand castle at the beach? learning, encouraging  Who should live in a sand castle? critical thinking  Are there real castles in the world today?  Use cardboard boxes to build a life-size castle Development Primary Focus: Physical and Motor Development Domains Preschool – Fine Motor: Explores and experiments with a variety of tools – spoons, crayons, paintbrushes, scissors, keyboard etc.

Main development School-age – Fine Motor: Demonstrates increasing skill in small muscle tasks such focus of activity as dressing, writing, cutting, keyboarding and using a variety of tools Secondary Focus: Social and Emotional Preschool – Self Concept: Begins to experiment with own potential and shows confidence in own abilities School-age – Self Concept: Displays growing confidence in abilities, skills, talents and preferences Approaches to Learning Preschool – Reflection and Interpretation: Thinks about events and experiences and applies this knowledge to new situations School-age – Reflective Learning Practices: Makes independent decisions based on interests, learning and experience School/life Preschoolers almost always love playing in sand! This activity lets them build a Readiness Skill sand castle and keep it. Being able to keep what they have made makes them Development feel very proud of their accomplishments, and this is a huge benefit for the development of a positive self-concept. School-agers are familiar with building such things as forts, snow houses/forts and sand castles. By making a permanent sand castle, they are really allowed to follow their imagination and creativity to add all the fun things that a sand castle should have.

Permanent Sand Castle Materials (this is enough for a school-ager, 2-3 preschoolers) 6 cups sand 1 cup Paper Paste (recipe below) Water Containers to use to form castle: cans, plastic cups, small buckets, plastic toy pots etc. Process Mix Paper Paste and sand Add water until claylike Start with large base, add smaller shapes HINT: should pack mixture firmly into containers Add decorations such as shells, rocks, sea glass When partially dry, carve designs in with plastic knife, spoon or other tool Dry to permanent hardness OPTION: You may want to carefully highlight areas with paint

Paper Paste Materials 1/3 cup flour 2 T sugar 1 cup water Saucepan Spoon Process Mix flour and sugar in saucepan Gradually add water, stirring vigorously

Cook over low heat until clear, stirring constantly Remove from stove and let cool

Consistency should be soft, smooth and thick It makes 1 cup Can be stored in a jar for several weeks, refrigerate