I have got to say that waterproof sand (or aqua sand or space sand) is one of the most fascinating sensory materials my kids and I have ever touched! We used it to build hearts underwater for Valentine's Day!
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If you've never played with Space Sand you must! Our kids got red Space Sand for Christmas so it was perfect for a Valentine's Day science exploration and sensory play.
We put the waterproof sand in a squeeze bottle. We submerged a heart shaped cookie cutter down in a container of water. Our preschooler E put the nozzle of the bottle under the water to fill the heart with space sand.
She patted the sand down into the mold under the water. It feels just like dry sand underneath the surface! Gently lift up the cookie cutter and your shape stays in place as you can see in our title image picture.
If any sand is sprinkled from the bottle before the nozzle is below the surface of the water you can see that it floats to the top. We used a spoon to scoop the dry sand into a bowl to reuse again later. This whole invitation to play was great fine motor practice!
It is also a lot of fun to scoop the hearts back out of the water with the spoon and watch the sand transform as it repels the water on the surface. You could make other shapes, sculptures, or write letters or numbers in the water, too!
Finally we tried a different experiment. We put the sand on a plate and E used an eye dropper to squeeze drops onto the Space Sand. The beads of water were fun to roll around on the dry sand. You could chase a few together to combine them into larger drops, too!
This post is part of our annual Show Me the Love Series with House of Burke and And Next Comes L!
Last year we brought you 15 Valentine's Day Play Ideas for Kids and this year we're joining up again to celebrate one of our favorite holidays together again! Be sure to check out my co-hosts' brilliant ideas and check back tomorrow and Thursday for more Valentine's Day activities from us all!
Scented Felt Hearts from And Next Comes L
Building Hearts with Blocks from House of Burke
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