Space sand - what is it?

Children of any age enjoy modeling. You can sculpt from clay, plasticine, dough and other materials, but one of the most interesting is space sand. It attracts kids with unusual properties, and their parents with safety and ease of cleaning.

The sand, which is called space, has created a Russian manufacturer for classes with children. This material can be used to teach the child, for example, to teach with a tiny account, shapes, letters, sizes, numbers and much more. It is also a great material for a lot of fun games. In addition, its use is possible for medicinal purposes - for sand therapy.

Games and various educational activities in which space sand is used help:

• Develop fine motor skills.
• Strengthen the muscles of the hands.
• Develop spatial thinking.
• Develop perseverance.
• Make the joints of the hands more mobile.
• Develop creativity.
• Relieve stress and calm the child.
• Develop imagination and fantasy.

• With such material you can play any time of the year and in any weather. On a rainy or winter day, you can invite your friends home and make scones together.
• The sand, which is called cosmic, is soft and airy in its consistency. It is very pleasant to the touch and the kids like to touch it.
• It is very fluid, it flows freely through the fingers of a child, without contaminating the handles.
• To sculpt from such sand, you do not need to add water to it. Moreover, if the water gets into the material, it does not hurt him - after drying, he will acquire the same properties.
• This material is quite loose, but when compressed it condenses, allowing you to create a variety of figures. At the same time, the molded beads do not dry out and harden over time.
• Cleaning up scattered space sand is much easier than usual.
• The manufacturer offers packaging with molds, a storage container and a book that helps in modeling.
• This type is cheaper than foreign analogues.

• Some parents note a not very pleasant "chemical" smell.
• If the baby's palms are wet, cosmic sand will stick to them.
• Due to the high density in a kilogram package there is not very much material.
• From it will not work to build a large building. Tall figures will slowly settle and crumble.
• If you play on the floor, after practice the surface of the floor will become slippery.

But after reading about its availability, almost every parent wonders if it is dangerous if the child swallows it. The manufacturer replies that this product is completely harmless to the child. There are no toxins and bacteria are not able to develop. If the child eats some of this material for modeling, he will leave the child’s body naturally.

The manufacturer’s recommendations state that one should begin to study and develop with the help of cosmic sand from the age of three. However, each parent can independently decide whether it is permissible to give such material in the hands of a child under 3 years of age. Specialists in early development believe that it is quite possible to play with him from the age of 2, if these games are under parental control.

If the sand is bought by a small child or as a gift, then a package of 1 kg is enough. From it, the child will be able to make several figures, and the parents will assess whether the material is of interest to their child. Children over 3 years old, as well as playing together with their parents or peers, need more of it - from 3 kg.

With the sand, which is called space, you can come up with many games and activities:

• Sculpt from it a variety of figures.
• Leave traces on it and guess what trail from which object.
• Search in the sand "treasure" - small toys that mom buried.
• Sculpt sausages and cut them with a knife.
• Draw on it with a toothpick.
• Leave on it rows of points with the help of Lego details and connect them, completing the tasks of the mother (graphic dictation).
• Sculpt the cake and cut it in portions.
• Play "construction" with toy dump trucks.
• Cut small figures and count them.

Since, besides the classic light brown sand, there is this material of blue, yellow, violet, pink and green, it is quite natural to ask whether it is possible to mix colors.

The manufacturer confirms that in the course of the game, the child can combine the cosmic sand of different colors, while creating other shades and colors. Mixing tones will be the same as when combining paints of different colors.

• Keep it advised in a plastic box or a special container. This will protect the material from dirt and dust.
• If the sand is wet, it should be dried, scattering a thin layer.
• Wash your hands well before playing games.
• Work with such sand on a smooth clean surface, and after class try to collect the material to the maximum, so that over time its volume does not decrease.

Having played, you should not suffer with difficult and long cleaning. By taking a piece of such sand into a handful, you can soak other grains of sand like this. They will stick to the bulk, like a magnet. As a result, no traces or residues will remain on the playing surface.

Since the material was created not so long ago, in many children's stores it is not yet. The Internet is able to help out, so anyone who is interested in space sand can go to specialized online stores and purchase a product, the safety and quality of which is confirmed by certificates.

Parents who have already acquired cosmic sand for their babies were mostly satisfied with this material for modeling. They note that children play with pleasure in the home sandbox, and it is very easy to remove such material. In addition, they call it an excellent anti-stress for adults.

Common to them is the purpose, that is, with each of them it is possible to sculpt with fun, inventing different games. However, there are quite a few differences between these materials.

Fine white live sand is presented only in one color, unlike cosmic sand, which is sold in six bright colors. The main component of Korean sand is represented by a shell rock, which dissolves in water, while cosmic and kinetic sand consists mainly of quartz sand, which is resistant to the action of water. Keep the living sand should be open, and the space can be closed in a box and put on the shelf.

With the kinetic sand, the Russian product is much more common, but the main (and for many Russians quite significant) difference is the price. Buying cosmic sand will cost much less than material from Sweden.

If for any reason it cannot be purchased, a product similar to it can be prepared at home from:

• Fine purified sand for animals (bought at the pet store).
• Potato or corn starch. Sometimes corn flour is used instead of starch.
• Purified water.
• Watercolor paint or food coloring.

Read more about this in the article about how to make space sand do it yourself.