We can all take so much inspiration from a day at the beach. From the contrasting colours of the sea, sand and seaweed, to the variety of colour shades and shadows that are cast from the natural daylight that floods the sky.
Above, I am on the Coral Beach on the Isle of Skye; I was awestruck by the beauty of this place and couldn’t quite believe that I wasn’t on a paradise Island in the Caribbean.
Our little man spends hours collecting shells, driftwood and seaweed. He examines every fine detail and enjoys building stacks, casting magic spells and creating portraits with the objects that he finds on the beach.
You can imagine the wild seas shaping the landscape and all of it’s tiny details. Children can gain so much knowledge about the natural world around them by studying it up close like this.
The multitude of shapes, colours and textures found on the Coral Beach.
Here are some ideas of nature art and crafts that you can make using sand, shells and pebbles from the beach…
Sand, Shells and Beach Pebbles
Collect a small amount of sand from every beach that you visit on your adventures and layer them up in a small glass bottle over time. Take care to store your bottle somewhere safe and flat until you have filled it to the top, to avoid your different sands mixing together.
You can label each layer with the name of the beach and the date that you went, using a Sharpie marker or glass marker.
Make a beach collage picture using sand from the beach. Your child will strengthen the muscles in their hands by squeezing and drizzling PVA glue onto some scrap paper or cardboard. Alternatively they can paint and spread the glue using a paint brush or their finger tips. Once the glue is everywhere that your child wants it to be, they can sprinkle the sand over the wet glue. Tip the paper or card over a tray and then you will have more sand left over to sprinkle on the areas that they have missed. Plus this will save getting sand all over the table or floor.
Create a shell mosaic, using air-dry clay.
Try some pebble painting and dotty mark-making by arranging your painted pebbles on the grass or sand to make a picture or spell out your name.