If you can remember, I posted Jocelyn's
summer wish list a few weeks back. The short list included
The Little Tikes Sand & Sea Play Table.
Well, it doesn't look like our money tree is going to bloom this spring, so I decided to get creative instead. Jocelyn doesn't
really need a fancy table to play in water and sand. Yes, the table looks pretty, it has a nice little umbrella to block the sun, and I'm sure Jocelyn would have fun with it, but I thought she could have just as much fun with a bin of sand and a bin of water.
This morning, Jocelyn and I went to Big Lots and purchased two
Sterilite storage bins, then went to
Walmart and bought a big bag of play sand.
Did you know that they make play sand in various colors now? Crayola makes
play sand in blue, red, purple, and green. I had visions of stained clothes and hands, and decided to stick with the plain old sand-colored sand. We did some food shopping, and went back home. After a nice lunch and a good nap, Jocelyn was out in the back yard where I had already set up the bins; one with sand, the other with water.
Our next door neighbor, who was cleaning out her garage, found an old but unused
kiddy gazebo, and gave it to us. I am very grateful for this, as our back yard is in direct sun throughout most of the day. I set it up the gazebo while Jocelyn began to play.
Jocelyn loved the sand and water. She played for hours. She liked to take handfuls of sand and put them other places around the patio. As much as she likes to move things from one place to another, I think she liked playing in the water better than the sand. She would scoop it up and spill it out...
...splash it around
Jocelyn found lots of ways to play in the water. She even took her Goldfish crackers and realized that they wanted to play in the water too. Maybe she realizes that fish belong in water?!?! She did end up "fishing" and ate up the soggy goldfish floating in her water bin. Yuck!
Once she was done fishing, she realized she was thirsty, ignored her sippy cup sitting only a couple feet away, and decided it would be much more fun to drink the water using her shovel. I used to drink water from the hose when I was a kid. It always tasted different than the water from the kitchen...a little hose water in one's life won't hurt you, right?
After playing with the sand and water, she decided to kick her ball around the back yard. I was impressed at how well she could do it!
What a fun and beautiful day! I'm especially happy it didn't take a $100 table to have fun!
Little Tikes Sand & Sea Table: $99.99 +shipping
~or~
Two storage containers: $3.00/each
1 bag of play sand: $3.23
Savings: $90.76
Easy Decision!!
30 years!
