Before summer break even started I began a list of things to keep the kids engaged and entertained while are my house. They of course helped me with the list. I wanted to create some things that they would enjoy in group settings as well as solitary play time and I especially wanted to have a variety of things that didn’t break the bank. This particular project, the sandbox, is one of their favorites. Especially the two year old. While the older two like to venture out of the yard to the barn and swing set she loves to sit at the sand box and play for hours. The older two also enjoy the sand box but she LOVES it.
When I mentioned I had an extra bag of gardening sand all three grands quickly focused their attention on me and what I had in mind. It took no time at all to put together with their help. I had purchased one of those under the bed plastic storage bins on wheels several weeks ago. The wheels make it easy to move about. We set the plastic bin on the back porch where it stays shady most of the day and poured the bag of sand into it. That quick we had a sand box. When the big kids moved to other activities Baby Grand played on. I noticed she kept trying to scoot closer to the bin and doing so she looked like she was doing the splits. That’s when I scavenged two large size cinder blocks that were not in use by the work shop. They make an excellent base for the sand box to sit on and are a perfect height for Baby Grand. I also placed one of those smaller cinder blocks for her to sit beside the sand box. It’s really just exactly the right height for her. The bigger kids prefer to sit ground level next to the elevated box.
Boy grand brought his huge collection of toy dinosaurs and the girls added toy pots and pans to the sandy toy box. It’s amazing how much time they spend there.
When they are finished playing we snap on the lid that came with the plastic storage bin to keep it clean and protected from the cat and bugs.
And guess what else? Baby Grand discovered the closed up sand box is a perfect table to play kitchen on. I'm thinking, next - play dough table!
DIY Sand Box skill level: Easy
DIY Sand Box building time: 5 minutes
DIY Sand Box cost: Under $15
DIY Sand Box supplies:
- Plastic storage container with lid (I found one for under $10 at Dollar General)
- Clean sand (In the garden center under $5)
- *Optional, 3 Cinder blocks
