Moon Sand Treasure Hunt
Date - 02/05/22
When was it done - Sensory Activity
Materials required
Premade moon sand
Grapats or other small wooden toys
Plates or bowls
Activity Prep
Moonsand was prepared by the facilitators before the activity.
Trays were filled with a good amount of moon sand to cover up grapats and wooden toys that were hidden within.
Invitation Set-Up
Invites were set up by hiding objects in balls of moon sand for children to break and collect the treasure inside.
The facilitator demonstrated the activity to the children to initiate engagement.
Process
The moon sand balls were to be broken up to reveal the hidden treasure.
The facilitator kept making new moon sand balls as children broke the ones in their hands.
Children also sorted their toys into plates and bowls as they kept collecting them.
Older children at the trays were also encouraged to make their own moon sand treasure balls.
Children’s Response
Moon sand Treasure Hunt is an activity that intrigues children a lot. The excitement of finding hidden toys inside moon sand balls grabs their attention quickly and it is very easy to repeat the activity over and over again with different objects every time. Children not only found hidden objects in moon sand, they also sorted and labeled the objects they found.
Precautions
Taking care that no amount of moon sand is consumed or comes in contact with children’s eyes or mouth.
Skills/Concepts
Fine Motors Skills - Looking for objects in the treasure hunts requires children to dig through the moon sand and take out the treasure. For this, they need to use their fine motor muscles present in their fingers and palms.
Cognitive Skills - During this activity, children have to follow the process of looking for treasures in moon sand by listening to instruction by the facilitator. They also get to explore new ways of revealing and hiding objects in moon sand.
Sensory Skills - Moon sand has a sticky but dry texture, which this activity allows toddlers to explore. Also, wooden toys are hard materials. Identification of the object within the moon sand is what allows children to complete the task of finding the hidden objects.