A small child, once on the beach, immediately begins to play with enthusiasm with the sand. And adults like to build sand castles. And this is not surprising. According to psychologists, games with sand have a beneficial effect on our psyche, relieve negative emotions, anxieties, and sometimes even help in solving problems.
Children who like to play in the sandbox, build castles, paint with sand, grow up confident and often achieve success. In addition, joint activities with the sand help parents learn about the behavior and development of the child.
The essence of the method
The sandbox is a good diagnostic tool that helps to effectively overcome a variety of personality problems, relieve internal stress. Sand therapy helps to release and understand your true Self, helps to restore its mental integrity.
A child often does not know how to express his anxieties and fears in words. Sand therapy for preschool children helps to do this . The child loses the situation that excites him with the help of toy characters, creates a picture of his own world from sand, thereby freeing himself from tension.
Playing in the sand with various figures, the child has the opportunity to change the uncomfortable situation or state in a playful way, thus gaining experience in independently solving problems, both internal and external. The kid brings the experience to reality.
In addition, it is impossible not to note the unique properties of sand, which is able to "ground" negative emotions, bringing harmony to the human condition.
Short story
The method of sand therapy began to be applied in late 1920 by psychotherapists Anna Freud, Eric Erickson and others. W. Jung developed the technique of active imagination, which is considered the theoretical foundation of therapy.
In 1930, Margaret Lowenfeld invented the “Peace Building” technique, which was used to work with sick children and children with psychological problems.
After studying the methodology of "Building a World" by Dora Kalf, a Jungian "Sand Therapy" was developed, which was used in work with both children and adults. It uses a tray filled with sand, and many small items. The Sand Therapy program complements other types of psychotherapy.
It is very relevant in the modern world. We are increasingly moving away from nature, forgetting our natural beginning. Classes with sand help to return to primitive feelings and sensations.
Goals
What is sand therapy for? Classes with sand help to determine the characteristics of the child’s personality, understand themselves and their I, contribute to the development of thinking, imagination, fine motor skills of fingers.
They teach children to create models of their fantasies, to understand and explain them. Classes help to overcome difficulties in communication, learn to express their thoughts in words, be responsible for their own actions and deeds, rely more on themselves, help develop self-esteem, get rid of fears and consequences of psychological trauma and gain faith in oneself.
Sand therapy for preschool children is not used to change or remake the child, it gives him the opportunity to be himself. Similar games are a symbolic language for self-expression. Manipulations with toys help the child express his attitude to himself and other people, to the events that are happening.
What problems do sand exercises help to eliminate?
Children's sand therapy helps to cope with various behavioral disorders, to establish relationships with other children and adults, to get rid of psychosomatic diseases, increased anxiety, fear, neurosis, to survive the difficulties associated with various family and social situations. It is useful for children with special needs.
Sand therapy in kindergarten
In kindergartens and schools have just begun to use the influence that sand therapy has on the mental development of children. In the future, it is planned to make such classes mandatory.
Trying to paint with sand, children quickly learn letters and numbers, learn to distinguish between the concepts of “right” and “left”, to distinguish between day and night, seasons. Therefore, games with sand can be used not only by a psychologist, such classes help teachers to educate children much more effectively. Sand therapy in kindergarten promotes the development of visual-figurative thinking, perception and memory, tactile sensitivity and fine motor skills of the hands.
Stages of playing with sand in children
The general stages of such a game were identified by John Allan in 1986:
1. Chaos . At this stage, the child selects many figures, dumping them into a container of sand. Figures have different sizes, belong to different categories, among them there are no plants and animals. This behavior of the baby speaks of the anxieties, fears and confusion that prevail in his life. This stage can continue for several classes.
2. The fight . At this stage, good and bad heroes, carnivores and herbivores, earthlings and aliens, etc. appear among the figures, which means confrontation, military operations, conflicts. Stage can last a long time. At this stage, you can not rush the baby, offering to introduce a positive character. It is necessary to enable the child to overcome the internal conflict independently, at the pace he needs. The completion of the stage can be judged by the concluded peace treaties, pardon of the enemy and the preservation of his life.
3. The outcome . This stage means harmony and balance. At this stage, all objects are interconnected, among the figures greens and fruits appear, animals are arranged in pairs.
Sand Games at Home
For homework you will need a box (65 × 75 × 8), blue paint, a container of water, many small toys. Make sure that the game box is not rough and has no sharp edges. The inner surface of the box is painted in blue, which has a beneficial effect on the psyche.
Sand for sand therapy is better to take yellow. But in order to create accents in the game, dark sand is also suitable. So that a child can sculpt sand figures, a container with water is needed. Figures for the game should be no more than 10 cm in height. Toys made of plastic and metal are suitable.
Basic games
There are many games for sand therapy, for starters you can try the most popular:
1. The game "Guess". Several figures are buried in the sand and they invite the baby to recognize them without removing them from the sand.
2. The game "Fun stories". Simple letters are laid out in the letters of the alphabet in the sand. Then you need to read them with your child. After that, the baby closes his eyes, and the letters hide in the sand. The child's task is to find the letters and restore the word.
3. The game "My city". The kid must display on the sand your town or even a magical country. You need to come up with a story that displays what is happening in the sandbox. All participating characters can be given names.
Group games
Sand therapy for preschool children is carried out in groups of 4-6 people. In the event that the participants are aggressive or hyperactive, the group should not have more than 3 people. Group lessons develop the ability to play in a team, communicate with other children, play certain roles, listen to yourself, your feelings and emotions, and express your thoughts.
The tasks of group exercises with sand are to improve skills and practical communication using verbal and non-verbal means, develop imagination and imaginative thinking, the ability to concentrate, and increase the activity of children.
The game is as follows. Children become wizards who must create a fabulous country on a desert land. Children are allowed to take whatever they see fit. A country is created all together or in turn, without interfering with each other, until it is built.
In this case, it is necessary to monitor the behavior of children, how they are in contact with each other. Sand therapy for preschool children is useful in that, while playing, children learn to resolve conflicts on their own, overcome difficulties together, listen and hear others.
Contraindications
Sand therapy is contraindicated for children who are hyperactive and have attention deficit disorder, epileptic children, babies who have allergic reactions to dust and small particles, as well as pulmonary and skin diseases.
Sand therapy for preschool children under the guidance of a psychologist is an excellent type of activity that helps parents get answers to questions that relate to their baby’s inner world, which helps to understand the causes of conflicts, fears and anxieties and successfully correct these conditions.