A natural play material made up of teeny tiny pieces of (usually) silica that has taken thousands of years to break down.
Children have probably used sand as a play material for as long as there have been children and beaches, yet the first person recorded to provide sand in a deliberate way for playing and learning from was in 1847 by the German kindergarten pioneer Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852). However, it does appear that Froebel was acting on the suggestions of a former student.
He designed a box-like structure on a framework with legs and wheels that children stood up to use, very much like what we might call a ‘sand tray’ today, as can be found in early years provision all over the world.
These sand trays were very much an indoor feature but influenced by the concept, the City of Berlin took the idea outside. They had begun incorporating places to play within existing city parks (playgrounds not being a common feature yet) in the 1850s and soon added sand.
At first this took the form of creating ‘sand bergs’ (literally sand piles) that reportedly proved fascinating for children. This eventually transformed into ‘sand boxes’ (also called 'sand pits') probably as a way of managing and preserving sand stocks.
By the end of the 1880s, the inclusion of sand boxes in the fast-growing number of public playgrounds around the world was becoming a standard feature.
The existence of sand on the beach is probably one reason why beaches hold such a facination for children and why they are almost always on the list of ‘favourite places to play ’ in surveys of children and young people.
Yet one question remains: in a playing context, is sand a ‘loose part’ or part of an afforded environment?
What do you think?
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[photo taken in the 1990s by Marc of the 'sand berg' in use at the Tree House Primary School in Belgium. By not being constrained within a 'sand box', every time the sand is topped up it could, and often is, dumped in a completely different place]
See also Froebel, Friedrich (1782-1852) (to come)
