Sand therapy for preschool children

Every mother dreams of developing her baby's creative abilities. For this, drawing, modeling, designing of various crafts made of paper or natural materials are ideal. But there is one more way to help the child discover new, unexplored facets of the surrounding world - sand therapy, which is especially recommended for preschool children. After all, with sand, you can not only play in the sandbox or make a passe from it, but use it as a material for creating real sand-paintings masterpieces.

Why do I need sand therapy?

Sand "painting" was born in the XIX century, when KG Jung, the creator of analytical psychotherapy, discovered that this material is capable of absorbing negative psychic energy and stabilizing the psychoemotional state of a person. In the development of preschoolers, sand therapy plays a special role, allowing them to spill out feelings and emotions that they fear or embarrass to say in the presence of adults.

If you were offered to attend classes at the school of art of sand, do not give up for the following reasons:

1. Sand animation promotes the rapid development of fine motor skills, because in the process of drawing the kid uses all the fingers and performs them quite complex movements. So, he can speak earlier than his peers, his memory and coordination of movements will improve.
2. Sand therapy is a great way for preschoolers to remove anxiety, tension, get rid of feelings of anxiety and internal aggression.
3. Sand is a very volatile material, so it opens up more room for creativity than paper, paint or clay. This will help the crumb to develop imagination and create a true fairy tale.

How to organize classes with sand?

To enjoy the activity of sand animation like a child and do not cause unnecessary trouble to the teacher, it is important to properly equip a place for them. For this:

1. You can buy a special table with a glass table top, which is illuminated from below by a lamp. This allows you to create a truly magical atmosphere in the drawing process.
2. If there is no possibility to buy special equipment, simply order a wooden waterproof box about 50x70x8 cm in size. Its walls should be painted in a sky-blue color, because it has a soothing effect on the psyche.
3. About two-thirds of the volume fill the box with carefully sifted river or sea sand. Make sure that it is well poured and not too small or too large.

The simplest exercises from sand therapy

The program for sand therapy for preschool children is very diverse and it allows changes related to solving specific problems in children. The following exercises are most often used:

1. The child slips his hands on the sand, performing circular and zigzag movements, and simulating the movement of sledges, cars, snakes. Then the same movements are repeated with the ribs of the palm.
2. The baby alternately collects first the right, then the left palm of the sand and slowly pours it out in a thin trickle, while sharing his feelings.
3. Ask the crumb during the sand therapy session with preschoolers to "bury" the handles in the sand, and then look for them.
4. Let your child imagine that he plays the piano and drummed his fingers on the sand, or will run through them on the surface of the table.
5. Together with the baby, press the inner, then the back side of the palm to the sand. Share your impressions with each other, what sand to touch: wet, dry, pleasant, causes tickling, etc.
6. Using the knuckles, the edge of the palm, the finger joints, the fists, together with the young artist, paint everything that comes to mind: the sun, snowflakes, figures of people, etc.