Tuesday was a rainy, wet day and I needed something to keep four kids (ages 1, 3, and two 5 year olds) with lots of energy busy. It was the perfect day to try out an indoor "sandbox." The sand was flour, vegetable oil, and Kool Aid for color.
Mix flour, oil, and Kool Aid (if you want to use it) with hands. Place in a tub for a sensory bin or, as I did, let the kids go crazy with it on the floor. I put down two garage sacks cut open at the sides, folding them out on the floor and placed the piles of "sand" on those to keep it off of the floor. In retrospect, I should have taped the bags to the floor and to each other, but I failed to think of that. As a result, the sand got in between the bags on the floor and the bags folded on the ends whenever the kids moved. However, the bags did manage to keep a good deal of the sand off of the floor and made clean up a breeze. All I had to do was fold up the bags with the sand in it and do a quick sweep of the area. I did not keep our "sand" as the kids walked in it and buried items in it, but feel free to keep yours. It keeps best in a sealed container or large Ziploc bags.
I gave the kids sandbox toys to use with the mixture, but in the end they buried items from around the kitchen (magnets, a juice box, Elizabeth's pacifier, just to name a few of the oddities) and their feet and hands. At one point they pretended they were at the beach. This indoor sand is easy and quick to throw together and provided an hour of fun for the kids. Can't beat that for easy, cheap entertainment!
