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July 23, 2014 | 6 Comments

Magnetic Sandcastle

snadpaper craft for kids Building sandcastles is tough , especially if you don’t live anywhere near a beach. This magnetic sandcastle activity is perfect for you no matter where you live. Not only are kids exploring the texture of the sandpaper they are exploring shapes and how they can work together to create something greater. Another side effect is the storytelling that might pop up like it did with my 4 year old. Her sandcastle was a story. If you don’t have a magnetic surface pick up a cookie sheet like we did for a dollar at Dollar Tree. I buy them 3 at a time.

Gather your materials. You will need some sandpaper, self adhesive magnetic sheets ( ours came from our friends at craftprojectideas.com ), scissors, a marker, and a magnetic surface. fine motor activity for kids

Start by drawing your shapes on the back of the sandpaper. Be careful thinner sand paper will show the marker through if you use a dark color like I did. A pencil may be a better choice. magnetic sandcastle blocks

Cut them out. magnetic sandcastle activity for kids

Add the magnets to the back. My little helper showed up at this stage wondering what I was up to and helped.

Peeling the backing off of these self adhesive magnets is RAD for little fingers still developing fine motor skills, it is also fantastic for concentration and building patience. fine motor sandcastle activity for kidsWe can’t expect our kids to develop ways to deal with frustration and patience if we never give them opportunities to face them. She got frustrated a few times and I said ” It’s tough, Mama is having a hard time too. ” that was it. If you think the frustration will block the whole activity step in but it’s OK for kids to try hard things and fail.

magnetic sand castle for kids

This zig zag piece was extra but she insisted on using it so we added magnets to it together.

Time to play.  sandcastle magnetic try activityShe was totally into it. I liked to see how carefully she was placing the pieces. ” They are rough on one side but not on the other mama!”  When my children make observations like that is when I jump on and try to add a little bit more of a lesson without breaking up their exploration. If they are silent I generally let them immerse themselves completely.fine motor tray activity for kids sandcastle When a comment like  that is made I might say something like what else feels rough like that? Or Do you like the feeling? Sparking more learning but using their observations as launching pad. sandcastle building tray activity for kids

Her creation was a pool with diving boards for sand fairies.

 

reading lists for kids

 

Need some books to go with this activity? Check out our Beach Books round up. Click here or on the image to be taken to the full round up with complete reviews of each book.

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Age Preschool, Beach, Preschool Activities, Sandpaper Activities, Shape Activities | 6 Comments

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6 Comments

  1. Jennifer Tammy says

    August 9, 2014 at 12:55 pm

    Thanks for sharing your natural teaching approach — when to extend and interject, when to let the children struggle through it and how to encourage them. I had someone ask questions about praise the other day and it reminded me that we need to slow down and explain what might be intuitive for us (now), so I’m loving this.

    to Jennifer Tammy" aria-label='reply to this comment to Jennifer Tammy'>reply to this comment
    • Allison McDonald says

      August 10, 2014 at 11:35 pm

      Thank you so much!

      to Allison McDonald" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allison McDonald'>reply to this comment

Trackbacks

  1. CraftCrave | DigiFree | CraftCrave says:
    July 23, 2014 at 4:36 am

    […] Magnetic Sandcastle – 1 freebie(s)? […]

    to CraftCrave | DigiFree | CraftCrave" aria-label='reply to this comment to CraftCrave | DigiFree | CraftCrave'>reply to this comment
  2. A Day At the Beach… Or Not | Butterbees and Bumbleflies says:
    August 16, 2014 at 8:00 pm

    […] a fabulous idea from No Time for Flashcards to make magnetic sandcastles! I grabbed some old partially used sandpaper from Cody’s shop, […]

    to A Day At the Beach… Or Not | Butterbees and Bumbleflies" aria-label='reply to this comment to A Day At the Beach… Or Not | Butterbees and Bumbleflies'>reply to this comment
  3. Sand Learning Activities Your Kids Will Love! - The Homeschool Scientist says:
    May 15, 2017 at 3:35 am

    […] Magnetic Sand Castle: This sand learning activity involves sandpaper! Cut out different shapes, glue a magnet onto the back of each piece, and get to work building a sand castle! And all without the sand mess. This activity gives younger kiddos the opportunity to learn about shapes and it gives older kids a way to build something from a scratch piece of sandpaper. Use a cookie sheet to stick all of the sandpaper pieces onto. […]

    to Sand Learning Activities Your Kids Will Love! - The Homeschool Scientist" aria-label='reply to this comment to Sand Learning Activities Your Kids Will Love! - The Homeschool Scientist'>reply to this comment
  4. Hands-on Beach Learning Activities the Kids Will Love says:
    May 18, 2017 at 10:00 pm

    […] Build & Rebuild Sandpaper Sandcastle from No Time For Flash Cards […]

    to Hands-on Beach Learning Activities the Kids Will Love" aria-label='reply to this comment to Hands-on Beach Learning Activities the Kids Will Love'>reply to this comment

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