Sand painting works wonders

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

In the world there is nothing more simple and accessible than a sand game. It was played many thousands of years ago, without thinking about the benefits of such an activity. A sand painting reflects the emotional state experienced by a person at a certain moment, his inner world.

The opinion that this game is child's play is not entirely correct. Not only kids, but also adults are often not averse to playing it, whether on the beach or in a specially equipped place.

Sand therapy is one of the areas of art therapy. Its essence lies in the effect of self-healing in the process of manipulating this material. The sand painting seems to project the state of mind of a person, as he builds it spontaneously, without thinking. The author of this method of therapy, Dora Kalff, said that everything unconscious is reflected in the sand. In the course of the lesson, a story, a story is compiled, characters are placed, castles and obstacles are built. In the course of corrective work, barriers gradually disappear from the sand picture, helpers appear, this world seems to “calm down”, and the patient, whether a child or an adult, finds a solution to his problem.

Similar therapy in working with preschoolers helps to reduce the level of aggressiveness and anxiety, because this material calms. Immersing his hands in it, passing between his fingers, the child feels its coolness, feels the warmth of his own hands. A preschooler who does not yet know how to draw well, playing in the sand, can talk about his feelings and experiences. It is no coincidence that if you observe how the kids behave in the sandbox, you will notice that someone is peacefully working on the “Kulichka”, enthusiastically building slides and castles. And someone destroys everything in its path, scatters sand everywhere and destroys buildings. This is how children try to interact without being able to speak yet.

Sand painting helps to form communication skills, learn to negotiate and give in. In the process of building together, children learn to interact with each other, to cooperate. Having learned all this in the sandbox, they then transfer the acquired knowledge and skills to real life.

The possibilities of this type of therapy are great. Sand painting for children has a psychotherapeutic effect, allows you to deeply work out the situation. In the course of corrective work, the child's attitude to himself, to situations of the past, future and present gradually changes. Elements of these classes can also be used by other narrow specialists: speech therapists and defectologists.

This type of correction has several limitations: it should not be used with children with ADHD if the child has allergic reactionsagainst dust and small particles, lung diseases, as well as in case of skin diseases and cuts.

In other cases, a picture of sand helps in solving a number of problems inherent in a preschooler. In moments of crisis, the emotional background stabilizes, mood rises, and anxiety decreases. A sandbox is a good helper when a child adapts to new conditions: kindergarten, school, moving.