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Fun Crafts and Activities for Sand at the Beach

A trip to the beach often includes lots of sun, water and sand. When traveling with children, there are many activities and crafts that will keep them entertained for hours. Many activities can also be performed at home by building a sand box in the backyard and filling it with clean play sand --- just don't forget the sunblock.

Sand Drawing
- For toddlers honing motor skills, children learning their letters or fledgling artists, drawing in the sand can be a fun and enriching activity. This works best with damp sand, so splash some water in your play area before getting started. Use tools or your fingers and help your child make and learn about shapes, patterns, letters, words or designs in the sand. Splash more water over the play area to clean away your work and start fresh when you run out of space.
Shaping Sand Crafts
- Adding a little Plaster of Paris to sand can create long-lasting decorations that your children made themselves. Decide what kinds of shapes you want to make, and dig your own mold in the sand. For example, you can make a mask on the beach by digging a face-shaped mold in the sand and decorating the mold with shells or feathers. Next, mix your Plaster of Paris with some water and gently pour it into the mold. After the Plaster of Paris dries, remove the mask from the beach and rinse away excess sand gently in the water. You can also bring plastic molds to the beach, and fill them with Plaster of Paris mixed with sand for more polished crafts.
Sand Castles
- Sand castle building is a quintessential beach activity. For young builders, bring simple castle-shaped buckets and pack full of damp sand before overturning and removing the bucket. For older children, the possibilities are limitless. Be sure to bring shovels, buckets and carving tools with you to create elaborate designs. Sand castles can be a few feet in size, or large figures stretching across yards of beach. Start with towers, walls and other structures before carving details into these shapes, and always use damp sand.
Beach in a Bottle
- To remember a special vacation, bring a little bit of the beach home with you. Bring a bottle to the beach with a screw-on lid, and fill with sand, small shells and colorful pebbles. Fill the bottle with water, either from the beach or with tap water once you get it home. Once it's full of water, seal the screw top with plumber's tape, which is available at hardware stores. If you want, you can decorate the outside of the bottle or write the year and destination of your vacation before displaying the bottle.

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