Tactile Discovery with Moon Sand®!!

Hello, my name is Sara Strand, and I’m an Administrative Assistant for the Merchandising department here at Discount School Supply. I help our buyers as they select new products for the catalog and develop new items for our customers.

Of all the cool things I’ve gotten to play with in my job (Wait, did I say play? I meant work…), Moon Sand® (MOON20) has got to be one of the most unusual. This specially-coated sand is designed specifically to provide endless opportunities to mold and sculpt. Moon Sand® feels like wet beach sand, but molds beautifully. Plus, it’s just really fun to squish!

Moon Sand® can also be baked to create hardened sculptures. If little ones want to preserve their sandy masterpieces, it’s easy—baking at a low temperature causes the Moon Sand® to harden. But, here’s the best part: when you’re ready to start reusing the sand, just reheat it, and it goes right back to its original, moldable form. In other words, it’s an art supply you can actually reuse over and over.

I am always looking for fun ways to incorporate early literacy activities into play, and Moon Sand® is perfect for this! Kids can practice letter recognition in a no-pressure, tactile way by drawing letters in the sand, using letter molds, and starting over again and again. The super-sensory experience gives a great incentive for kids to play and learn in a hands-on way.

I also love the opportunities for children to practice their narrative skills using Moon Sand®, because it is completely open-ended. This material can become anything a child can imagine! Have a child or group of children use Moon Sand® to tell a story, shaping objects in the story, crumbling and recreating as they go. Or, have the children describe to you what they’re doing as they explore the cause-and-effect relationships of molding, packing, crumbling, squishing, rubbing, and pressing.

Moon Sand® doesn’t require any special tools or maintenance. My favorite way to play with Moon Sand® is in a large tray, which minimizes clean-up.. Another great option is to spread a plastic sheet on the ground in your play area and let kids play to their hearts’ content. When they’re done, just gather the corners of the plastic and funnel the sand back into your container of choice. Or you may prefer to just wrap the Moon Sand® in the plastic sheet and place the whole bundle in a container, ready to go for the next time.

See how versatile Moon Sand® is in this video:

If you’re looking for something tactile, creative, open-ended, and incredibly fun to use, I highly recommend Moon Sand®, available in a variety of sizes and colors through Discount School Supply.