Indoor "Sandbox"

Last year I saw an article about this indoor "sandbox" idea, but it took me about a year to actually follow through with making it. In August, I had finally had enough of the fog and gloom of our typical San Francisco summer and decided to give the kids something to play with inside. Landon's favorite part of the playground is the sandbox. He could play in it for hours doing construction projects.  With my first attempt at the indoor "sandbox", I used one of his medium sized bins from his toy shelf and filled it with beans and rice. I posted it on Facebook (last picture) and a friend of mine liked the idea and made her own version.  She used a long narrow bin with a lid that would fit under a bed instead. I loved that idea, so I went to Target and bought one of the under the bed storage bins.  Then I bought the cheapest beans and lentils they had in the store (about six bags). The beans are perfect for pushing around with all of Landon's construction equipment.  For Tatum the beans and lentils are a great tactile sensation for her (if she can control herself and not throw all of the beans out of the bin). The beans and lentils definitely "escape" the bin, but the clean up is not bad at all.  With all of the rain we have had in the last week, the "sandbox" has really come in handy. Hopefully you are all staying dry!