Sandbox Play

[Josiegirl]

Do you allow the dcks to bring sand all over your backyard, carry it in pails? Do you allow them to bring other stuff into it, such as sticks, mulch, leaves, etc.? What if they want to play in it barefoot? Do you make them put their shoes on as soon as they go somewhere else in the yard?

I tried to keep the whole sandbox play under a little bit of control this a.m. but I felt like I was coming across as a drill sergeant.

Any suggestions?

[Play Care]

Sand play is one of the things I allow only if I sitting right there. I rotate the kids at the table, so not everyone can do it at once. Sand stays in the table and only sand/sand toys are allowed.
No drill Sargent here, I just close up the table the second it seems someone can't follow directions.
They can be willy nilly with their own sand tables/box - I find sand it just like the play doh, once they get it all mixed/nasty no one wants to play with it anymore.

[Blackcat31]

Do you allow the dcks to bring sand all over your backyard, carry it in pails? Do you allow them to bring other stuff into it, such as sticks, mulch, leaves, etc.? What if they want to play in it barefoot? Do you make them put their shoes on as soon as they go somewhere else in the yard?

I tried to keep the whole sandbox play under a little bit of control this a.m. but I felt like I was coming across as a drill sergeant.

Any suggestions?

I have a fairly nice sized sandbox. It's open and available for play any time we are outside. The kids have one rule. No sand outside the sandbox.

I don't let anyone go barefoot as shoes are a requirement here. The littles just get their shoes dumped before we head in and the bigger kids dump out their own shoes when they are needing it.

The kids don't bring leaves, sticks and other items into the sandbox. I have a rather large collection of sand toys so other items aren't necessary and only make our clean sand dirty.

Sometimes only one or two kiddos play in the sandbox and sometimes, they are all in it at once.

I've heard some providers tell some pretty tough tales about awful sandbox play, but honestly I've never had an issue with our sandbox. I'd get rid of my swing set before I'd ever consider getting rid of our sandbox.

[e.j.]

Sand stays in the sandbox. If they want to pour sand into or out of a pail, they have to be sitting or crouching down so the wind doesn't blow the sand into someone else's eyes. I have a big bucket of toys they can use for either the sandbox or water tables. Those are the only toys in the yard that are small enough to be played with in the sandbox. I have a big maple tree in the yard so if leaves have fallen into the sandbox or if mulch has been brought in on their shoes, they can play with them in the sandbox but I don't allow them to bring in handfuls to mix with the sand. (I don't allow them to play with sticks in general so no one has ever tried to use them in the sandbox.)

The kids can play barefoot in the sandbox but I do put their shoes back on as soon as they're done. My play yard has mulch in it so it would be a little rough on bare feet. I let the kids know the "rules" once they're old enough to play in the sandbox and if they play in a way that makes it unsafe for the others, they're excluded from playing in it for the rest of the day. I usually don't have to act like a drill sergeant because they love playing in the sand and don't want to be banned from it.

[MarinaVanessa]

Sand stays in the sandbox here too and I have specific toys that go in the sandbox. Those toys stay in the sandbox area also, no other toys go inside.

[stephanie]

Echoing sand stays in the sandbox. Kids need to keep their shoes on, if they get sand in their shoes they'll be dumped before going inside. It hasn't really come up but I probably wouldn't let them bring in leaves, sticks, rocks, stuff like that into the sandbox. There are plenty of buckets, scoops, etc. to play with. I know I feel like a drill sergeant too at times, in the sandbox or out of it!

[daycare]

AGAIN SAND IN sandbox


only other rule we have is that you have to sit while playing sand if filling anything up. we have pretty bad wind here and if you stand and try to dump or fill anything, the sand goes right into the other kids eyes that are sitting.

we have a 30x30 sandbox, its massive........

[Josiegirl]

Kind of an added question, if they have to keep shoes on, how do you manage water play? As in a sprinkler? Do you require dcks to bring flipflops or something?

[Blackcat31]

Kind of an added question, if they have to keep shoes on, how do you manage water play? As in a sprinkler? Do you require dcks to bring flipflops or something?

Any water play we do is done in a different part of our yard and the kids all wear water shoes/socks. Pretty common around here for most kids/adults to use them. Our lakes are rocky and not always barefoot friendly. Like these:

http://www.amazon.com/Wave-Childrens-Aqua-Toddler-Purple/dp/B00CLIJL1I/ref=sr_1_3?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1434203379&sr=1-3&keywords=Water+shoes

If we have water play (other than small stuff) like sprinkler etc its an "everyone at the same time" activity and not a couple kids in sprinkler while a few more are in sandbox and two more over at the swingset.. Kwim?

[e.j.]

If we have water play (other than small stuff) like sprinkler etc its an "everyone at the same time" activity and not a couple kids in sprinkler while a few more are in sandbox and two more over at the swingset.. Kwim?

Same here. I either have the sandbox open or the water tables filled. I don't have both available at the same time. I would have the kids trekking back and forth filling the tables with sand and plastering themselves with wet sand. No thanks!

We've had a water ban here for the past several summers so I don't use the sprinkler anymore. When I did, the kids either went barefoot in the grass or wore water shoes/jellies/flip flops.

[Unregistered]

I have a sand table/sand kitchen. Sand stays in the table generally but can be used in the kitchen area next to the table. Sand is not allowed to be dumped out. There are clear rules about sand use. I put a bit of water in the sand table so it becomes soupy sometimes. That's a favorite.

Rocks, leaves, grass are welcome in the sand table! I've seen that get carried away tho, so I do have limits!

[childcaremom]

I have a sand table/sand kitchen. Sand stays in the table generally but can be used in the kitchen area next to the table. Sand is not allowed to be dumped out. There are clear rules about sand use. I put a bit of water in the sand table so it becomes soupy sometimes. That's a favorite.

Rocks, leaves, grass are welcome in the sand table! I've seen that get carried away tho, so I do have limits!

This is how we are. I have 2 sand areas.

One is strictly sand and that is it. Sand stays in and does not get dumped. It is also in the area where my littles are.

The other is more of a free for all. It gets wet, they can add rocks, sticks, etc. I used to let them move freely with it around the yard but now it has to stay in the area. There is still an area to make mud pies, etc but it can't leave the designated space.

Shoes on, dump when we come in.

We have a water table. I tell dcps to send their kids in something that is okay to get wet. So lots of changes of clothes and usually they have water shoes or sandals that they don't mind getting soaked.