Build your own Sandbox

Kids of all ages love to play in the sand.  It can be a construction site, made into a sand 
castle or add water for a muddy mess.  It is easy and inexpensive to build a sandbox in 
your own back yard to enjoy for the entire summer.

When you are deciding where to put your sandbox try and find a location that gets a lot of 
shade throughout the day.  When the sun is hot, and the kids still want to be outside this 
will be a great activity for them if it is out of the sun.

All you will need are four boards, a weed barrier for the bottom, a tarp or piece of 
plywood for covering and the sand.  Nail the four boards together into a square shape and 
then take the weed barrier and affix with a staple gun.  If you do not want to use a weed 
blocker or barrier, you can nail a piece of plywood to the bottom of the frame you made 
but this will require measurements and a bit more planning.  Then add your sand.  

The cover is a nice touch to keep out rain and unwanted animals such as cats digging in 
the sandbox.  But it is not a necessity.  Now relax as the children spend hours creating 
cities and other imaginative buildings in their very own sandbox.

If you do not have enough pails and shovels or other sand toys available for all the 
children, raid the recycling box and re-use old plastic containers to fill and pour sand 
with.  If the children want the sand to stay together like it does in at the beach you can 
give them some water to play with.  The sand will dry and if you use the weed barrier it 
will allow water to drain out of the sandbox.