Post by Jena

I remember, when Little J was just a baby, we lived in Royalston, a very rural town in the central, northern part of Massachusetts.  It was a very lonely time for me.  I had no local friends because I always worked an hour away before having my baby.  I had no roots in my town.

Little J and I would take a daily walk through the woods to the post office in the center of town.  The post office was next to a small avant garde private school, whose mission was based in nature and the outdoors.  I would watch as teachers took their class outside to the sandbox, where they would practice their writing and math skills by drawing numbers and letters with sticks in the sand.

This is what this project reminds me of.

How to Make Your Own Zen Sand Tray

Little K finds a bottle of sand art in the treasure house of our recycle center.  I come very close to telling him, “no, don’t take that, we don’t need it.”  He has a plan and I’m glad I acquiesced because it turned into quite a nice little project for us.

I set out 2 cookie trays, lined with a light colored construction paper, “to better see with my dear.”

I empty half of the art sand on each cookie sheet and invite the boys to play.

The rainbow colors create a very inviting provocation.

The boys’ fingers don’t hesitate over the trays of sand.

They begin with small marks: circles and little peck marks.

Much like a etch-a-sketch, we can shake the tray to erase marks and start fresh.

And in no time, the boys have the trays on the floor.  It seems easier for them to draw in the sand in this position.

Quickly follows, the shedding of socks and feet in the sand as well…

…where they leave toe marks.  Little J and I write the word “foot” in the sand.

Don’t have a bottle of sand art? You can make your own colored sand art media for your zen sand tray with sand or salt and food coloring.

1. Pour half a cup of salt or sand into a Ziploc bag and add several drops of food coloring.

2. Close the bag tightly, making sure that most of the air is out. (You can add more food coloring to get more vibrant colors of “sand.”)

3. Use your fingers (on the outside of the bag) to mix the color into the salt.

4. Pour the salt or sand in a thin layer on the newspaper and let it dry.

5. Repeat this for each color, giving each its own piece of newspaper.

6. When all colors are dry, pick up the papers one at a time and pour the salt back into Ziploc bags to store.

7. Use in your zen sand tray.

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Jena from HappyLittleMesses here.  Wife of hubby, Big K, momma to Little J and Little K. Stay at home mom, former Atelierista, aka, Studio teacher at an early childhood education center.  Love to be creative, love to use art materials of all sorts (professional to the up-cycled), love to be in the woods, splashing in rivers, digging in the dirt… these things pull at me all day. My favorite thing to do is share this love of the creative process and the love of open ended play with my boys. My greatest wish is to teach them this artistic language, so they have yet another way to express themselves.