27 replies to this topic

[Raffell]

Hi I am wondering if anyone uses bought compost in their sand tray.

I used to use it when I first started teaching and wondered if you can still use it now and if so what type do you all buy?

[jessica]

hi raffell, yes we do. we are in a church hall and are not allowed to use sand so we have to find other materials for the children to explore. We use it a lot for:
garden centre role -play.
we add bugs and creatures
pots and trowels
zoo animals
dumpers and diggers
little people etc.
we use b&q economical compost, plenty of warm soapy water to wash hands after play and paper towels
the children love it and it is ok to clear up after play. :)

[Alison]

I remember years ago doing a work shop on "alternatives to sand in the sand box"

one suggestion was tea leaves, after Tea bags have been in boiling water they are sterile (as long as no milk/sugar has been added) once dried out and removed from the bag, the tea leaves make an interesting alternative to sand, In theory with the help of some trusty parents /carers to collect tea bags it would be a cheap/ free resource

I havent personally tried it though, I would imagine the texture would be like dry soil but with the smell of tea

[aliamch]

We also have used compost much the same as Jessica and depending on the time of year have let the children pot up seeds to take home at the end of the week.
Karrie

[Sue R]

The tea bag idea is great - it takes a while to collect enough, but it's worth the wait! Compost is good, too - have used it in much the ways already detailed. Would just add a word of warning in that it's very inclined to 'waft about' and can be extremely uncomfortable if you get it in your eyes!

Sue

[Wolfie]

Yes, we used it regularly in the ways described above and it was always a big hit with the children - just bought a bag of whatever was cheapest at the local garden centre!

[kermit21]

We have used compost but used children's gardening gloves as well as we weren't sure if you should or not...can you get away with not using them?

[narnia]

Porridge oats are great too, really nice feeling and smell............just DON'T let any water get near them!!!!!!!!

[LJW]

Hmmm.... water sounds fun on your porridge oats!!!!

[Marion]

It's interesting but starts to smell really quickly
We use ordinary common garden compost if you sprinkle bird seed it seems to sprout overnight
Rice is nice in the sand tray too great texture and sound.

[LJW]

At the moment we have got organic maize! Children love it and its easy to sweep up (does look a bit like someone's teeth have fallen out tho!) . We usually have organic wheat, not maize but we couldn't get any this time. Helps if your husband works in an animal feed business........

[MissSunnyDay]

we use compost but spray it with water to keep the dust down, If not it gets too dry the children look like they have been shoved up the chimmney.

[MaryEMac]

We used dry porridge oats at the beginning of the week and then on the friday we added just enough water to make it damp. Great fun was had by all, using little containers to make cakes, catfood etc or even just moulding it.
We have even had jelly in our sand tray, bit sticky but lots of interesting conversations.

Mary

[Marion]

We've had jelly and strawberry angel delight :D

[LJW]

florists gel....... getting carried away now!