Building sandcastles on the beach is a quintessential vacation activity for children and families around the world; not only does this bring families together for hours of seaside fun and frivolity, but it’s a great way to teach your kids the value of teamwork. Best of all, however, it doesn’t take much more than creativity and a bucket and spade to take part in this activity.
It’s unsurprising that many people rank memories of sandcastle building high on their list of happy thoughts; it has much to do with the people helping them, we would say. Help your kids make great memories this year; build some sand castles.
Teamwork
You could build a sandcastle all by yourself, of course, but that’s not nearly as much fun as everyone working together to make a real beauty! If you have a big group with you this is the perfect time to showcase teamwork and leadership; make a plan together, agree on a design, and have everyone working on different things in tandem.
Location
Get a stretch of sand that’s a little more isolated if you can; other beach goers may get in the way, or you might bother them. Days that are forecast to be mild, sunny, and dry with little chance of high winds are perfect for sandcastle building.
Sand Texture and moistness
Fine sand is best for building, and it should be wet, too, but stay as far from the waves as you can if you want to avoid the premature destruction of your masterpiece! Dig a hole to form a reservoir and carry water over to it so that you can wet your building sand easily!
Solid Foundations
Build a good foundation from thin layers of wet sand; compact each layer before you add another, and make sure that each layer is wet enough to stay that way when the next is added. If you do this you’ll find that your sand castle is much more stable!
Details
Once you have a solid mound of good height you can get on to the really fun bit; the details! At this point you can start shaping the sand with tools like brushes, stones, shells, the edge of a knife, or anything else you have to hand. Avoid narrow shapes which might topple easily, and remember that the sand must stay wet in order to be malleable. Once you have the basic structure down you can start to decorate it with shells, pebbles, seaweed, and driftwood in order to give it a distinctive spin that is all you guys!
Why not take the time to have a memorable beach day with your family this vacation? Get together and build sandcastle to be proud of… just be sure to get photos before the tide washes it away!