Recommended Age: 2 and a half years and onwards
Level of Parent Involvement: Medium the first time showing the child, then low when the child explores independently
Prerequisites
- None
Materials
- Sand
- Water
- Bucket or jug
Preparation
- If you don’t have a sandpit at home you can take your child to the closest beach or a park which has a sandpit
- If you are going to a park or the beach you will need a bucket or jug to collect water
Steps
- Invite the child to go outside to their sand pit, if you don’t have a sandpit at home you can go to a local park with a sand pit or visit the closest beach
- Explain to the child that you are going to make an island and a lake in the sand
- Begin by digging a hole in the sand, ensuring the hole is surrounded by sand
- Invite the child to collect some water in the bucket/jug
- The child may pour the water into the hole
- Give the child the definition of a lake by saying “When we have water surrounded by land, we call that a lake, this is a lake”
- Encourage the child to repeat the word ‘lake’
- To make the island build a mound in the sand, digging around the mound to allow water to be placed all the way around
- Invite the child to collect some water
- The child may pour the water around the mound of sand
- Give the child the definition of island by saying “when we have land surrounded by water, we call it an island, this is an island”
- Encourage the child to repeat the word island
- Invite the child to explore the island and lake or they may make their own
