Fun at Home with Kids

Baby/Toddler Beach Sensory Bin with Edible Sand!

Friday, July 19, 2013


When I think of summer, I think of the beach.  In fact, in just a few days we're headed out on our annual family vacation to the beach!  While I love beaches, I am super SUPER grossed out by babies eating sand.  Apparently my husband ate a lot of sand as a baby and he turned out OK, but nevertheless, sand eating = gross to me.  So I like to use an edible substitute when my babies are small - white cornmeal!

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S and I set up this lovely invitation for X to play when he woke up from his nap - a beach complete with shells,a sand bucket,and some Safari Ltd figurines:  a life-sized starfish,hermit crab,and two crabs.  He was SO excited.  (Please note that the items pictured are not baby toys and are not intended for mouthing or unsupervised play).  Never one to dawdle about, X dove right into his Beach World.


He loved touching and holding each of the different shaped shells in the world.  (Can't you just hear him saying "Ooh!" here?)


He loved, loved, loved swooshing his feet in the sand and getting the sand in between his chubby little toes.


He also loved taking big handfuls of the sand and slowly dropping them over and over.  It was really pretty to watch!


Periodically throughout his time playing, he kept peeking in the bucket.  S and I were nearly hysterical by the end because I think he checked it a good dozen times.


Though the bin wasn't necessarily intended for S (I generally provide her with smaller "characters" for her to have more freedom within the bin to play - like I did with her Hidden Ocean Small World), she still thoroughly enjoyed it.  She loved showing X all the different components of the bin.


And one final gratuitous shot of my kids.  Because they're cute.  And reallllly goofy.


Though we are playing with this bin outside here, we did also play with it extensively inside (thanks to Seattle's tendency to rain even during the summer!) and it is really easy to clean up.  You can lay down a splat mat or just roll with it directly on the floor - cornmeal vacuums very easily.  When you're all done playing, so long as you didn't get the cornmeal wet - you can store it for quite a long time in an airtight container.  


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All activities here are activities I feel are safe for my own children.  As your child's parents/guardians, you will need to decide what you feel is safe for your family.  I always encourage contacting your child's pediatrician for guidance if you are not sure about the safety/age appropriateness of an activity. All activities on this blog are intended to be performed with adult supervision.  Appropriate and reasonable caution should be used when activities call for the use of materials that could potentially be harmful, such as scissors, or items that could present a choking risk (small items), or a drowning risk (water activities), and with introducing a new food/ingredient to a child (allergies).  Observe caution and safety at all times.  The author and blog disclaim liability for any damage, mishap, or injury that may occur from engaging in any of these activities on this blog.

37 comments:

  1. Yes, your kids are ADORABLE. And I love this edible sand idea- how cool!

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    1. Thank you on both counts, Jeanette Nyberg!!!!! :) :) :)

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  2. Wow, that makes some beautiful sand! And his faces just get cuter every time you point a camera at him. :D

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    1. There were some HILARIOUS blurry outtakes of him. He is one crazy expressive guy! And thank you!!!

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  3. This is SO precious! It's worth looking at just for the pictures of that adorable baby. :) What a fun idea, too!

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    1. Hahaha - true, true Lindsey! He is a show stealer! :) And thank you!

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  4. Clever idea for edible "sand"! And I just love how he always ends up IN the bin. :)

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    1. Thank you, Shaunna! And heck yes - it's where the party's at. ;)

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  5. Oh man, I love his expressions! Great activity, Asia! Thanks so much for popping over and sharing this week!

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    1. Thanks, Jackie! So glad you're back - we all missed you! :)

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  6. I am so in love! Great idea. This is right in time for our beach trip with our 16 month old. Could you please share which exact shells you bought, perfect size. I want to get the same size for my son. Thank you!

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    1. Hi His Princess! Thank you so much! These shells are the Medium Assorted Shells from Discount School Supply. I have also seen similar sized shells in bundles at craft stores (like Michaels) if that is easier! Have a blast at the beach!!! :)

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    2. thank you so much for your prompt response! I'm so glad i found this blog!

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    3. You're welcome! I know it's always good to know those details - sometimes I just totally forget to put them in the post - whoops! :) So glad you found us, too! :)

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  7. This is so great! Our little is just hitting the age where the sensory play is perfect for him but he puts everything in his mouth, and I know real sand would be the first thing in there.

    Do you know about how much white cornmeal you used?

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    1. Thanks, Dee! Yes - something about sand was just SO tempting to my littles around this age and EWWW! Hahaha. I used three boxes of the white cornmeal here. I keep it all stored in an extra large Ziploc bag when we're not using it.

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    2. Great. Thanks for so many wonderful ideas.

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  8. This is such a great idea! My daughter LOVED the sand when we went to the beach (and fortunately didn't try too much to put it in her mouth) but she's in a stage putting EVERYTHING in her mouth. We will definitely have to try this! Thanks for sharing! :)

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    1. Thank you, Alicia! Oh yay - I hope she will love it! I also appreciated how much easier it was to clean up than regular sand (it doesn't stick to skin and between toes like the real thing).

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  9. Just love his expresions, such an adorable face. Great ideas, thank you.

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  10. This is just the idea I was looking for! Thanks so much,I am going to use this with the babes in my class.

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    1. Yay! I hope they love it as much as we do! :) :) :)

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  11. Love the idea of taste safe alternatives, eating sand IS gross! Your little one has such expressions, LOVE them!

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    1. Thank you so much, Nicolette! They were killing me with the faces in this one. :)

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  12. CUTE KIDS! Absolutely the most fantastic and creative idea! Love this. I shared on my blog at http://blog.wrappedinpurple.com/

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  13. We stay in singapore and it is hard to find cornmeal here.Is there any alternatives? Thank you!

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    1. Ooh, I don't know for sure what you have available in Singapore, but you could always crush cereal to make it!

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    2. it is super duper hard also to find this ingredient in malaysia....but tq Asia...Cereal sounds superb!!!

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  14. Where is the recipe? I can't find them anywhere on your site. Looking for the sand and the snow!

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    1. Do you not see the post and photos above? If not, it's that the browser you're using is outdated - try it on your phone or another computer and it will work!

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  15. Hai there Asia, is there any ingredients to substitutes White Cornmeal?

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  16. Where did you buy the white corn meal. I have been several stores. They either don't sell it or they only sell tiny bags? How much did you use to fill that plastic container?

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    1. Yellow cornmeal is just as fun -- but all of our grocery stores sell giant boxes of either white or yellow (I think they're a few pounds each, but don't recall off the top of my head) and I think I used maybe 5-6 boxes? Hope that helps! :)

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