Pirates dig for treasure, but just playing in the sandbox is a learning and fun treasure that also supports children’s development and kindergarten readiness. Just like real pirates, kids can bury items and then dig them back up. As kids play in the sandbox, they are:
- exercising their muscles and learning how to use tools. Sand is quite heavy and all the digging, scooping, filling, piling, and dumping, uses lots of energy, especially because kids do it over and over. Kids are practicing coordinating their movements and how to use tools.
- exploring volume. Even though 2 containers may both be full, one of them may have lots more sand than the other. This is something that kids learn thru experience.
- observing what sand does. Dry sand will pour out, but wet sand can hold a shape.
- imagining and pretending. Kids are not born with the knowledge that pirates have buried treasure but they sure seem to figure it out early. Only in the imagination can a jar lid be treasure but it’s fun to bury and find. Besides jar lids kids can use plastic containers, empty water bottles, plastic or wooden spoons, shovels, popsicle sticks, scoops, rocks and other materials. Imaginative skills are used for more than fun. When we ask kids to think about what someone else might be feeling, we are asking them to imagine. Imagination is important for interacting.
These are only a few of the ways that kids and pirates can learn and play in the sandbox. The sand is also stimulating the sense of touch and encouraging a connection to nature.Really, there doesn’t need to be a treasure buried in the sandbox; it is a treasure for kids all by itself. Would your pirate like to have some playtime in the sand?