Kinetic sand has been the hot toy for a few years now, and it’s not just kids who love it. Adults find this stuff soothing and oddly satisfying too. Kinetic sand is regular sand that’s been coated with silicone oils. This makes it smooth and moldable, with a moist texture that never dries out. We’ve rounded up our favorite kinetic sand activities to use in your classroom or at home during distance learning. Whether kids are learning math, reading, writing, creativity, or fine motor skills—kinetic sand works for them all.
Need to stock up before you get started? Try this two-pound bag of kinetic sand from Amazon.
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1. Hunt for buried treasure.
This one is sure to keep them busy for awhile! Bury a variety of items in the kinetic sand and let them see what they can find. Younger kids can just dig to see what turns up; have older kids write a list of what they find as they go. Bonus points for upcycling a plastic wipes container with gold spray paint to turn it into a treasure chest!
2. Build a kinetic sand potato head.
Kinetic sand activities like this one are fun, but they incorporate learning too. Encourage your students to name the potato head parts as they place them and use positional words to tell you whether they’re above, under, and so on.
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3. Go on an alphabet hunt.
This is simple fun for littles just learning their letters. Bury small letter beads in the sand, then have kids dig them out and match them up, one by one.
4. Chicka chicka sand sand!
Tie a letter hunt to everyone’s favorite alphabet book. Sing along to the song in the video and dig out the letters—try using tweezers to add a fine-motor element—and place them on the coconut tree. (Here are 10 more clever Chicka Chicka Boom Boom activities to try.)
5. Cook up (pretend) yummy meals.
If you’re looking for a new way to teach healthy eating, have your students build food from kinetic sand. (You’ll want a variety of colors for kinetic sand activities like this, so check out this 10-Color Kinetic Sand Pack.)
6. Practice writing letters and numbers.
Kinetic sand activities are just more fun than a dry-erase board! This is an easy, reusable way for kids to practice basic writing.
7. Find Pete the Cat’s groovy buttons.
Pete keeps losing his buttons. Can your students help find them in the kinetic sand bin? This is such a fun activity to accompany Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons. (Find more great Pete the Cat activities here.)
8. Use kinetic sand with 10 frames.
10 frames are terrific for building math skills, and using them with kinetic sand makes things a little more fun.
9. Count and learn with kinetic sand and straws.
Tactile learning, like kinetic sand activities, really helps things stick for some kids. Cut sturdy plastic smoothie straws into smaller pieces, then have kids plop them into the sand as they count them out. (Love bright pink kinetic sand? Get it here.)
10. Set up a kinetic sand racetrack.
Try sculpting sand into the ultimate racetrack for toy cars and trucks. Use cardboard and blocks to create bridges and tunnels, and accessorize with other small toys.
11. Match uppercase and lowercase letters.
Letter stamps (we like this set) are ideal for kinetic sand activities. Kids can draw a wood craft stick with a capital letter on it from the basket, then stick it in the sand and stamp the appropriate lower case letter next to it.
12. Stamp and spell sight words in the sand.
Get out those letter stamps again and practice spelling sight words. Use the tip of a paint brush or a pencil to write the letters in the sand too.
13. Create compound words for a challenge.
Learning compound words? Grab a free set of printable cards at the link below, then match and stamp or write the words in kinetic sand.
14. Enjoy a day at the beach.
Some kinetic sand activities are all about the creativity. Give kids regular and blue kinetic sand and a handful of beach accessories to see what they’ll come up with!
15. Try some arithmetic kinetic sand activities.
Use this set of number and symbol dough cutters to practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Solve a problem, then wipe the sand smooth and start again.
16. Engineer with building blocks and kinetic sand.
The unique properties of kinetic sand make building with it a special kind of fun. Combine it with plastic building blocks for an early learning STEM challenge.
17. Mold kinetic sand into geometric shapes.
Help kids learn about different geometric shapes with this set of View-Thru Geometric Solids fillable blocks paired with kinetic sand.
18. Discovery prehistory with dinosaurs and plastic eggs.
Which came first—the dinosaur or the egg? We can’t say for sure, but your kids will have fun learning about their favorite prehistoric beasts with this activity.
19. Construct a kinetic sand ant hill.
Add plastic ants to kinetic sand to create a mound of busy activity. Use it to learn about how ant colonies work or just have fun playing with the ants.
20. See plate tectonics in motion.
Cut cardstock and use with layers of kinetic sand (or other modelling clay!) to show how Earth’s layers form geographical features, like mountains, as the tectonic plates move.
21. Model the planets of the solar system.
Speaking of Earth, why not mold it and its planetary neighbors from kinetic sand?
22. Explore the moon’s surface.
While you’re learning about planets, drop by the surface of the moon to explore for awhile. We’re not saying you have to use this cool glow-in-the-dark kinetic sand, but why wouldn’t you?
23. Take it to the next level with kinetic sand slime.
Amp up the sensory experience by turning kinetic sand into slime. This slime is smooth and stretchy, without feeling quite so “slimy.” Learn how to make it at the link below.
24. Sculpt a kinetic sand turkey for Thanksgiving.
Gobble gobble! Prepare for Thanksgiving by building turkeys from sand, feathers, and googly eyes, with a pipe cleaner for a beak.
25. Decorate a kinetic sand Christmas tree.
Grab some green kinetic sand and mold it into a cone shape. Then decorate it with beads and other trinkets to make a Christmas tree. Kids can do this again and again.
26. Chill out with a zen garden.
Dig into the soothing nature of kinetic sand activities by creating that ultimate calming space: a zen garden.
