Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Coffee Sand

Need a change of pace from regular old sand in your sensory tub? I have just the thing for you: coffee sand! It is a soft, fluffy alternative to traditional sand, and bonus: your house will smell like a Starbucks as long as you've got it lying around!




Coffee sand is so easy to make. After you've had your morning cup of joe, just dump the used grounds onto a cookie sheet lined with newspaper and let it sit out all day to dry. (It generally dries out in about 12 hours.) After you've collected several days' worth, mix it together with some corn meal. It doesn't necessarily need to be equal parts, but I like to make mine look (and smell!) more like coffee than corn meal. If you get impatient, you can always add in coffee straight from the tin, but why not get your daily pick-me-up out of it first, right?




Since L is such a fan of scooping and pouring, I equipped the coffee sand with measuring cups and bowls. It was so much fun watching L work her little sniffer to figure out what was different about this new sand! It is definitely a treat for the hands and the nose!





11 comments:

  1. wow! it's a great texture and smells good! thanks for linking up to tip-toe thru tuesday!

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  2. That's a great way to make use of old coffee... and I go through a lot of it. Thanks so much for leaving a lovely comment on my blog. It is wonderful to discover your blog.

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  3. What a great way to use something you'd normally throw away! I pinned it and am going to feature you on my Kid's Co-op post this week. Thanks!

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  4. We have been playing with coffee and I love that you added it to the sand. What fun:-) Going to pin and fb share- Frogs and snails and puppy dog tails

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  5. Oh, how fun!! Thank you for sharing at Happy Family Times!!

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  6. :-) Will try this! I shared it on my fb page, too!

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  7. Coffee oil usually stains - is this not a problem?
    Thanks for the great idea!

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  8. I was wondering about the possibility of staining too. I'm always looking for ways to incorporate scent into our sensory play at preschool and I've avoided using coffee b/c I've been afraid of problems with stains. Does the corn meal help alleviate the problem? If so, this will be wonderful! Either way, thanks for sharing (I can still use it at home with my own kids).

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    1. I have never experienced staining. I don't know if this is due to the corn meal or if it is because the coffee has been used and then dried out. We've been playing with it at home without stains and I can't remember ever having that issue when it was in my classroom, either. I hope I don't lead you astray! Have fun!

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  9. My 2 yr-old grandson loves it; does not ever seem to tire of it, but one warning! Do not let the kids accidentally inhale it! My grandson somehow was pretend playing that it was coffee and he had poured it into a cup and then instead of blowing it to cool it off, he sniffed and inhaled a bit. That scared the beejeezes out of me as for a moment he seemed to be choking.Thank god he was OK without ill after effects! So, do be careful.

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  10. can the kids absorb caffeine thru their skin playing with this?

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