Sensory Sand Trays Great for Letter Practice

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by Tricia of Critters and Crayons
My husband and I first saw the Sensory Sand-Writing Tray at a Montessori school.

We watched as the school’s director filled a wooden tray with sand and then used two fingers to draw a large letter. He explained that young children may have difficulty with fine motor skills (like controlling a pencil,) but from a young age, they can write using their entire hand.

With a little shake, the sand was smooth again. And the slate was ready for a new letter!

This kind of hands-on learning and innovative thinking is what attracted us to the Montessori method.

Montessori Sand Tray At Home

We made our own fine motor sand-writing tray for the kids to use at home using a bottle of colored yellow sand from Hobby Lobby which we put into a dollar store rectangular baking tin. (*If you have pets, use a pan with a lid.)

Our daughter is old enough to practice writing Sight Words using Sight Word Cards as a guide.

For our 3 year old son, we set out cards with shapes so he can practice drawing shapes in the sand, too.

And, what kid doesn’t love to just touch sand?

For other Critters And Crayons posts on Montessori-inspired activities, materials and topics, please check out:

Bio: Trica is a blogger and mom of two at Critters and Crayons. Find her Collaborative Montessori-Inspired Activities And Ideas Pinterest Board for more great ideas!

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19 Comments

  1. Great post, as a mom I can use every ideas that you share here with us in order to provide the best for our children… Thanks a lot.

  2. What can I say to your post. This is very helpful to children to develop their skills and academic subjects.

  3. Pragmatic Mom- The Chinese Characters idea is GENIUS- and the portable baggy idea is BRILLIANT (especially for road trips!!!!) We are teaching our kids Chinese and Korean characters- and that is a great way to teach them, for sure- Especially as important as the brush strokes are in Chinese lettering! Thank you!

    1. Cornmeal would work perfectly and it is probably very accessible! The best part is that we wouldn’t have to worry if they put their fingers in their mouth! Great idea!