I bring to you, Bears in Quicksand.
My six-year-old Kindergartner had a fantastic idea. Shocker! It has to do with bears, kinetic sand, and a marsh somewhere, most likely near the coast. (that last detail I tossed in for a more dramatic introduction)
“Mom! Let’s put the bears in kinetic sand and use those chomper things to get them out. We can call this, Bears in Quicksand!”
Umm. Yes. Yes, we sure can! Brilliant idea, little man.
The sensory play idea is the perfect combination to strengthen little hands for writing through imaginary play.
If you get kinetic sand, make sure it is BEACH SAND.
Yep. I am going to get straight to the point. Beach Sand is much easier to clean up and lasts for months. – Maybe years, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself.
Getting kinetic beach sand is a little trick my friend at Toddler Approved taught me, and it proves to be true.
You bet I linked to the CORRECT kinetic sand in the supply list below!
RELATED: Love kinetic sand and want more ideas? Here are 20 ways to play with kinetic sand.
These tweezers (aka chompers) take time.
But that doesn’t mean you need to toss them or pass them to a neighbor!
We have plenty of ways to play with jumbo tweezers, and they are so beneficial to small hands before we learn how to write letters.
If your child is frustrated, place them aside and introduce kitchen tongs first, just like we did here.
Next, take a look at this tab under the search tongs.
PRO TIP: The tweezers come in a large multi-pack. Save some to add to birthday gifts!
Now let’s shine a little love on the countng bears.
I had these bears in my classroom as a teacher and pulled them out on a whim years ago with my oldest.
Guess what?
There hasn’t been a day we haven’t played with them (or stepped on one) in the last seven years. – This simple toy is excellent; it gets a front-row seat on our forever toy list.
RELATED: New to sensory play? Be sure to check out how to introduce sensory play.
Let’s talk supplies!
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- Kinetic BEACH sand
- Counting bears
- Jumbo tweezers
- 41 quart storage bin – best price at Target
The objective: save the bears from the quicksand and drop them into safety. – A pretty straightforward game, don’t you think?
When all the bears have been rescued, count them up and play again or encourage free play if it heads in that direction.
As my boys collect the bears, they work on fine motor strength.
This is a pretty big deal!
We don’t want to skip opportunities to squeeze, grab, squirt, paint, cut, and draw lines and curves.
Before your child forms letters, be sure to check out:
Gather a few supplies! This sensory bin is a hit.
