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Sand and water play are two separate but related activities. Each one on it's own provides children with a host of leaning opportunities. As a liquid, water can be splashed, poured or even frozen. As a dry solid, sand can be sifted, raked, and shoveled. Play with each substance separately can be used to foster children's physical, social emotional and cognitive growth. A creative curriculum will combine sand and water play for two reasons. First, sand and water are natural materials that are soothing and pleasurable. They encourage very similar types of explorations and learning. Second, sand play and water play are enhanced when the two are merged to form a third type of play, wet sand play. Teachers can also use water or sand play as an independent activity. Children do not necessarily approach both types of materials in the same way. A particular child may be more familiar with water than sand upon entering preschool. Developmentally, it can be expected that this child would be further advanced in water play than sand play. Teachers therefore are alert to the fact that developmental progress in each area is not always parallel. Children are encouraged to explore each medium.

Although children do not always achieve identical levels of progress in sand and water play, they do pass through similar stages of play in both areas. The first developmental stage for both sand and water play is one of sensory-motor exploration. Children become familiar with the properties of the materials. What does sand feel like when it is sifted through one's fingers? What does water feel like when it is poured? What happens to water when soap is added? Do individual grains of sand disappear after being sifted through a strainer? During this stage of development, children use many of their senses to become comfortable with sand and water. As they sift, pour, poke, splash, and mix these substances, they acquire considerable information about what these materials are like and what can be done with them.

Children apply what they have learned about sand and water to a purpose in the second developmental stage. Instead of simply scooping wet sand in and out of pails, they now do this activity as a planned event. The unfolded sand structure is now a building that can be named or part of a bridge support to be built. Activity during this stage is more planned and part of a nearly endless series of experiments. The third and final developmental stage is a refinement of the second stage. Activity becomes even more planned and executed. This stage is best distinguished from the preceding one in that children's activities are now less repetitious and more complex. Children experiment with building intricate moats around castles or channeling tunnels. Water play may involve dramatic elements that depend on children's imaginations. Children's activities during this stage become largely symbolic of their experiences. Play activities in this final stage also requires a higher degree of cooperation than in the earlier stages. During the first stage, children remain mostly by themselves. As they become increasingly comfortable with this knowledge and begin applying what they know to their play, they like to join in shared projects. Their play, as it develops, reflects team efforts to build, experiment and enjoy the sand and water.