Today was one of those days where the kids were bored and I was uninspired. We ended up at the craft store to stock up on supplies for several summer projects. On an impulse purchase I bought Moon Sand. The store had several kits with pets, farm animals, and even monster trucks. We just got the basic tubs of sand in two colors.
The boys and I are fascinated by this Moon Sand. It really looks like sand, but it doesn’t act like sand. If you squeeze some sand it forms shapes. You can use toothpicks to draw designs or plastic knives to sculpt. We made basic snowmen, snakes. It’s not really pliable enough to make dogs or anything with small details like a tail or legs. The lids of the sand containers have basic shapes on them that you can press the sand into. The sand forms perfect squares, circles. The boys played tic-tac-toe with sand shapes.
The box claims the sand floats in water, so the boys formed tiny boats. They were delighted that the sand boats actually do float. Instead of shaping the sand, it’s easier and more impressive to press it into molds. If you have any old candy molds or small cookie cutters those work great too.
The box also promises easy clean up. I’d have to argue with that. My boys made quite a mess out of it. But in all fairness they make a mess fairly often, and the sand did wipe off the table without any trouble.
I noticed that Amazon also sells a sandcastle kit of this stuff. I think I might have to order it and set it aside to occupy the kids on a rainy day. It’s so cool though, I think I’ll play with it first.
More Ideas for Bored Kids:
The Home Depot: Kid’s Workshops
Family Activity Opportunity: Sign Up for a Class at Michael’s