I would like to get a sandbox for the kiddies to play with outside but I don't like the mess. I understand that kids get messy and they would learn so much by playing with sand, but I have been debating it because I don't want to be frustrated with all the mess. I currently do alot of water table and rice table play, because of the easy clean up.
What are your experiences with a sandbox?
My outside playtime is AFTER nap, lol. As soon as the kids get up we do diapers, and then go outside. I have a picnic table they sit at for snack which I have since learned need only consist of a glass of juice because they won't stay there long enough for anything else. Then they go play. The parents pick up from the back yard so the sand, grass, etc. goes home with the parents.
My sandbox is a wood frame with 4x4 posts in the corners that helps to support a 1x6 cap around it. The kids stay on the outside and reach in to get sand and use the 6" cap to play on rather than getting in so that helps a bit.
As far as having a sandbox goes that is the favourite spot of my group from the 1 year old to the 3 year old. They have trucks and construction stuff as well as basic pails, shovels, empty containers for filling and pouring. I have a piece of wood for a lid so the sand stays dry and clean.
I send the sand home with parents too!! We do our backyard time after nap and before pickup too. :)
There is the occasional morning that we'll play in the sandbox. The kids take off their shoes at the door, bang them on the wall, and then we go into the house. :)
Our sandbox is the main attraction in our backyard, the kids spend most of our time playing in there, and more often than not if I take sand toys to the park they spend a lot of time playing in the sand then. I make sure to (and the kids are used to this) "de-sand" everyone before they come in the house, and the mess isnt too bad, but I've kinda come to accept that I live with a certian amount of sand during the summer. Although it can be annoying, the hours of summer entertainment for the kids is totally worth it for me!
I open the sandbox after naps and snack too so it all goes home with them. I let them play in there sometimes in the morning, I really don't find it that messy.
biggest advice- cover it at night.. Really. Animals think it is like a super posh bathroom
We got to the park almost every morning and there is lots of sand there, so I prefer to keep the back yard sand-free. We just take our sand toys to the park and leave the sand there. We have lots of other toys in the yard for afternoon outside time.
If bringing the kids back in the house make sure you remove their pants/shorts and empty the cuffs and pockets. This is where the sand collects and then falls out more so than the shoes since we are changing those once inside anyways. If you let them sit in the box then do the same with diapers having a change as soon as you come in.
The sandbox is the favourite place for my kiddos too, when I first started out I had a huge sit-in sandbox. A few years ago I switched to the stand-up and it has made a world of difference. I love it! No sandy diapers, I don't end up on my knees to play, I can get around the entire box, behind the children to do hand-over-hand if they need help. Best $100 I've spent on daycare equipment :)
http://varietytrading.com.au/images/...0Table%20C.JPG
Victoriacc where do you get one like this? Toys r us or something?
I'm pretty sure I seen this one at Toys R Us this summer in their big summer equipment catalog I was flipping through ( our Toys R Us brings in very few for display).
I have an orchard very close by to my house that we visit every fall and instead of sandboxes for the kids to play in, they have "dry corn kernels" box and a "grain" box....the kids can dig in the corn kernels and grains to their heart's content and its really easy to clean up. They provide lots of shovels, pails, tonka trucks and john deere metal toys to use in these boxes. Its a real neat idea and so much nicer to play in than sand. Perhaps a trip to a farm or a look on kijiji, you may be able to find an orchard or farm that could sell you a bag of kernels or grains to add to your box! Just an idea! :) Happy Thanksgiving!
Sorry FS I'm just seeing your post now. I bought mine at Zellers. I scoured the flyers in the spring - it was even on sale! I think it was about $100Quote:
Originally Posted by FS2011
Oh I think I really want a sand table now! I had one when my kids were little, but I think my dck's would love one, and it won't kill my grass either! ;)