8 Great Chanukah Activities: Day 6 Chanukah Sand Table and Writing Trays

 In the dead cold of winter, you might not be thinking much about the summer days of sandy beaches. Or maybe you are! All the more reason to invite the warmth of the beach into your home, or at least your sensory play experiences for some Chanukah themed fun. Today's post is a two-fer. You get one great sensory bin and one great table time activity for early and pre-writers! Who could ask for anything more? Ok, maybe a beachfront vacation in a tropical climate, since you asked...

Sand feels so good running through your fingers. Pouring, scooping, drawing lines, burying and digging, smoothing and raking... Yes, it's messy. Yes, you will be exfoliating your bare feet or hearing the grit underneath your slippers for days to come (add in some glitter, and you'll be finding it for life). What better way to preserve the beautiful memories of childhood play? (No sarcasm there, I promise...)


In our first activity, Chanukah I-Spy 8 Sand Table, I combined sand, glitter and a collection of assorted Chanukah themed loose parts along with some early math skills for my little guys to explore and play. I created my own poster of clues to hang above the sensory table depicting pictures of each of the objects that were hidden in the sensory bin. My super sleuths would need to dig in and discover

• 8 Chanukah candles
•  8 dreidels 
• 8 sufganiyot (donuts--I used erasers from Oriental Trading Company, but you can use pony beads, pipe cleaners rolled into a ring shape, craft foam, clay or printed/laminated pictures of donuts), 
• 8 latkes (I used small wooden circles, you can substitute in craft foam, cardboard, laminated pictures, etc.)
• 8 oil jugs (I found these little golden goblets in the party favor section of Dollar Tree)
• 8 gelt coins (I used  plastic coins, you can use real ones if you prefer)

I thought initially to also add brushes, magnifying glasses and perhaps some collanders and dishes for sifting and scooping. And then, after burying all the treasure, I decided to wait. Often, introducing less at the beginning of a sensory play experience leads to more. Sure enough, the boys explored first with their hands and then came up with their own add ins from around the house. They are pretty good about asking first before taking something to use in the sensory table and I try to say yes as often as I can. After counting and sorting, S moved on to making a menorah in the sand by arranging and filling the oil jugs with sand an candles. Both boys later got into scooping sand and loose parts with a couple of plastic ice cream scoops into a plastic pitcher and making "Chanukah smoothies." Lots of counting happened as they added ingredients. Donut, dreidel and latke smoothie anyone? Sometimes our sensory tables get a little stale after a few days, but this one has kept everyone busy and engaged all week long!

Sand trays are a popular tool used in classrooms for early and pre-writers. Sand is a fabulous medium for practicing strokes, shapes and letters. Just as easily and quickly as they appear in the sand, the tray can be gently shook or smoothed over and used again. In this simple set up, children are invited to explore and practice the Hebrew letters on the dreidel, nun, gimmel, hey and shin (pey if you are in Israel). A Chanukah candle is provided as the "pen," a set of laminated letters for a visual and a dreidel to spin. Whichever letter it lands on was the letter to be practiced. Want to throw in a mathematical component, too? Provide a chart to document how many times the dreidel lands on each letter. S had a great time spinning, writing and erasing. Then he wanted to practice the letter shin on paper with a pen! Y had a great time using the candle to draw lines and swirls in the sand...and then dumping a bit of sand on the table!

We'll be back tomorrow with your next dose of Chanukah fun! Until then...

Happy Chanukah & Happy Playing!