Long Term Plan
Sand Play
It particularly supports the following areas of Learning and
Development:
 Personal, Social and Emotional Development
 Communication and Language
 Expressive Arts and Design
Our constant area of provision ‘Sand Play’ offers the
following learning opportunities in the Prime and Specific
Areas of the E.Y.F.S.
Sand Play
Areas of Learning and
Development
Learning opportunities
Prime Areas
Personal, Social, and Emotional
Development
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Communication and Language
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Physical Development
learn how to work independently and select
equipment
co-operate, take turns and share equipment as
part of a group
learn to respect others’ ideas
extend imagination when developing ideas in
the sand e.g. using the play people to make up
a story in the sand, adding natural materials
learn to use the sand safely and with
consideration for others
talk about what they have done in the sand
with confidence and a sense of achievement
develop self-esteem by seeing displays of
learning in the sand
experience the therapeutic value of working
with wet/dry sand
describe the properties of sand e.g. rough,
smooth, sticky, wet
extend vocabulary associated with sand play
e.g. pour, fill, empty, full, soft, bucket, sand
wheel, sieve, mould dig, tunnel, rake, smooth,
names of sand toys
describe their actions and the actions of
others e.g. pushing, pulling, scooping
ask and answer questions
recall and report back at group times
develop pre-writing skills e.g. making patterns,
marks
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Develop fine motor skills through manipulating
tools, pouring, filling, stirring, pushing, pulling,
digging, patting, moulding, drawing etc.
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develop hand/eye co-ordination e.g. pouring
sand into containers, making sand shapes using
moulds
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use a range of equipment with increasing skill
e.g. balance, sand wheel, sieves
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be aware of the space in the sand tray and be
able to share it with others
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use their senses to observe changes in sand e.g.
adding water to dry sand
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select appropriate equipment for different
types of sand play
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use building skills
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Specific Areas
Understanding the World
Mathematics
•talk about their local environment eg. beach, building
site
•relate feature of their play environment to features
of their own environment with the addition of
suitable resources
•make physical features such as hills, tunnels, roads
•change the sensory nature of sand e.g. add pasta,
change dry to wet/very wet sand
 explore various mathematical concepts e.g.
capacity, size, weight
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understand and use mathematical language e.g.
full, empty, need more/less, heavy, light,
straight/curved lines, names of common shapes
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make shapes and patterns in the sand
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solve problems
associated
e.g.
how much will
specific container hold?
dry
sand into a
of
different
sizes
containers
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with sand
a
Pouring
variety
of
Expressive Arts and Design
Literacy
•explore the properties of dry/wet sand – compare
•look at similarities, differences, patterns in dry/wet
sand
 extend vocabulary associated with sand play
e.g. pour, fill, empty, full, soft, bucket, sand
wheel, sieve, mould dig, tunnel, rake, smooth,
names of sand toys
 describe their actions and the actions of
others e.g. pushing, pulling, scooping
 ask and answer questions
 recall and report back at group times
 develop pre-writing skills e.g. making patterns,
marks
 make up stories using additional props such as
play people, farm animals, vehicles
 talk about their experiences in the sand from
displays of photographs or books about sand
play
 have access to a variety of stories e.g. The
Beach, Lucy and Tom at the Seaside
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 make up stories using additional props such as
play people, farm animals, vehicles
 talk about their experiences in the sand from
displays of photographs or books about sand
play
 have access to a variety of stories.
Prime
Communication Physical
Development
and Language
Speaking
Understanding
Listening and
attention
Moving and
handling
Health and self
care
Areas
Personal,
Social and
Emotional
Development
Making
relationships
Specific Areas
Literacy
Mathematics Understanding Expressive
the World
Arts and
Design
writing
Numbers
Shapes, space
and measures
The world
People and
communities
technology
Being imaginative
Exploring and using
media materials