Removing Toys from Sand

 I always have a few planned activities up my sleeve but it was nice to do something spontaneously. A 2 year old  has been saying "leaf" and trees" and getting all excited about the vegetation. So I made an activity that involved reaching for a leaf and inserting into a basket attached to the tack. He loved it and imitated some numbers as I counted them. As planned I asked clients to remove small toys inside the shown container filled with sand. Nobody was willing to feel around inside to remove them but tolerated (with exressions that said "this is yucky") placing them in the basket. I can certainly tell who is tactile defensive while doing this activity. I recall my son (who is now 23 years) spending many happy hours with his hands shifting sand. He was the opposite extreme and loved feeling different textures. He found it relaxing and he still does, but now he whittles wood and other repetitive crafts :)