How to Make Sand Toys

Sandbag Toss

• 1

  Add 1 cup of sand to eight drawstring pouches. You want the pouches to be three-fourths full. Pull the drawstring on each pouch tight and tie them off.

• 2

  Place two sand buckets a minimum of 6 feet apart. Press the bottom of the buckets into the sand approximately 1 to 2 inches to add stability to the buckets. Another option is to pour an inch or two of sand in the bucket to hold it steady. Two players, one behind each bucket, can take turns tossing the sandbags at the other player&'s bucket. The one who gets the most in wins.

• 3

  Empty the sand from the pouches after the game for easy storage.

Sand Castle Kit

• 4

  Use acrylic paints to decorate the side of a large cleaning bucket. You can use a metal or a plastic bucket. You are painting the bucket to decorate it anyway you desire. You can free hand a design on the bucket, or you can use stencils from a craft store. You can paint a pattern or picture, or write your child’s name on the bucket. The choice is up to you.

• 5

  Allow the paint to dry completely.

• 6

  Fill a plastic pencil pouch with sand castle tools. Include things such as putty knives, ice cream sticks, paintbrushes, straws and cookie cutters. All of these supplies can be used to add detail to a sand castle. Place the plastic pencil pouch inside the large painted bucket.

• 7

  Place a large plastic funnel, shovels of varying sizes, a dust pan and plastic storage containers in different sizes and shapes inside the bucket. The funnel can be used to create the sand castle’s roof peaks, and the storage containers can be used as molds. The dust pan can work as a large shovel for moving sand. A colander can also be included for sifting sand. If you want your child to be able to color the finished sandcastle, include pouches of flavored drink mix, water and a plastic spray bottle. You can fill the spray bottle with some drink mix and water, and spray the sand castle to color it.