Plastic Sand Molds for Children

Inspire imaginative play with plastic sand molds.

Playing in the sand is not only enjoyable for children, but it can be therapeutic while teaching important math and science skills. Use almost any toy or household item in a sand box, from a wooden spoon to a toy truck. However, making molds out of wet sand will provide hours of enjoyment for your child. Use plastic sand molds to spark your child's imagination. They are available in a large variety of options -- it's not just your mom's old bucket anymore.

Structures

One of the most traditional sand-building activities is building castles. Depending on your sand molds, these can be simple, one-level structures or large, multilevel palaces. Although you can use plain buckets to create castles, find inexpensive plastic castle molds that include steps, doors, windows and turrets for added fun. These come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and colors and are often available at your local dollar or discount store. In addition, use brick molds in different sizes and help your child build a house for his action figures or a garage for his cars.

Animals

Inspire more imaginative play by using animal-shaped sand molds. Use a dragon to protect the castle, or sea animals to play "beach" in your backyard. Many kits include plants as well, such as a palm tree or flower. Buy a dinosaur bones mold set and help your little archaeologist discover history. As an additional activity, fill the bone molds with quick-setting plaster then remove the molds to create realistic dinosaur bones to hide in his sand box.

Letters

Keep learning entertaining by playing with alphabet sand molds with your child. Help her learn letters and basic spelling by creating words in the sand. If she builds a castle, teach her to spell "Castle" with her letter molds. For an added level of difficulty, use upper- and lowercase letters, or add number and shape molds.

Cooking Tools

Children enjoy playing with items that are familiar to them. Allow them to create a sandbox kitchen by providing plastic cooking tools such as a rolling pin and sand molds shaped like cookie cutters. Some sets have plastic ice cream cones you fill with wet sand using a plastic scoop, or cupcake molds that swing open to keep your child's creations intact.

References

• Scholastic: Sand and Water Play
• Clever Toddler Activities: Sand Play Ideas

Resources

• Sand Play Therapists of America
• Amazon: Plastic Sand Molds and Toys
• Dollar Tree: Bulk Sand Molds
• Kaplan: Sand Toys and Water Play for Children
• Educational Toys: Ice Cream Sand Toy Set