I ploughed through Pinterest and discovered lots of alternatives some could even be moulded but many included oil which again I wasn't keen on offering to the babies (#paranoidmothersyndrome). In the end I came up with the idea of using couscous, not great when wet but it made a great dry alternative.
Once we arrived back from our routine school run I took the babies out into the garden to explore the activities set up for them (book's in the teepee, obstacle course to aid walking and climbing and our couscous tray with shells and spoons for scooping and pouring). They were very curious to see what was in the tray and started exploring the texture by burying their hands at the bottom and picking up handfuls and watching it fall back into the tray.
Once they were happy with the texture they began to pick up the spoon's and start scooping the couscous into the shells before pouring it back out again from a height. Both of the boys loved the couscous and yes some of it did make it into their mouths which I help them to take back out but to me it is still a safer alternative.
The activity was definitely a success and over the next few weeks I will be using couscous for other sand activities which fit around their current interests of animals and transport to help develop their vocabulary.
Links to Development Matters ( for my 16-26 month year olds):
PSED
• Plays alongside others
• Plays cooperatively with a familiar adult, e.g. rolling a ball back and forth
• Responds to a few appropriate boundaries, with encouragement and support.
• Begins to learn that some things are theirs, some things are shared, and some things belong to other people.
C&L
• Understands simple sentences (e.g. ‘Throw the ball.’)
PD
• Makes connections between their movement and the marks
they make.
UW
• Explores objects by linking together different approaches: shaking, hitting, looking, feeling, tasting, mouthing, pulling, turning and poking.
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