SAND THERAPY GUIDE

                                                                                                     Duration: 50mins

The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

               

Step 1: Creating a Sand Tray

The creation of a sand tray is the most important step towards achieving a successful therapy. The teachers should check if the trays have enough sand for the children to play and enjoy themselves. Each child in the sand play therapy course should be given a personal tray each measuring 500 X 350 mm.

Step 2: Choosing the Toys or Objects

Choose appropriate toys or objects to be kept in the sand tray. The objects or toys should be chosen in a manner that can be easily associated with the characters of the story. This would enable the children to identify the characters easily and make their own adaptations of the story while they play.

Step 3: Placing the toys or Objects

The placement of the toys or objects should be done in a sequence. The preferred placement is putting the toys or objects in a straight line. In this way, children would later place them accordingly as per their adapted version of the story.

Step 4: Narrate the Story

The teachers should narrate the story of ‘The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss’. The narration of the story would help the children to associate with the toys or objects placed in the sand tray. The teacher can narrate the story by means of a video projector and identifying objects such as sun, fish amidst others. This step would allow the children to understand and acquaint them with the basic fabric of the story. The teachers should be open to any questions that might arise by the children in regard to the moral of the story. At this point, the children should be encouraged by the teacher to make their own versions in accordance to their understanding.

Step 5: Write down the Observations for Each Child

Each child is likely to make their own adaptations to the story in accordance to preferences and factors affecting him or her such as family background, creativity amidst others. These adaptations made by each child consciously or unconsciously reflect their particular behavioral pattern. It is crucial to note down the observations for each child involved in the sand play therapy course. These remarks or notes would be beneficial to draw conclusion with regard to any disrupting behavior of child. This in turn would help to point out ideal solutions or treatments to deal with a specific behavioral pattern.

Step 6: Feedback

The teacher should give feedback to each child in regard to his or her narration. This would allow the children to rectify any misinterpretation. The teacher is advised to give a positive feedback, as it would build the confidence of the child and allow him or her to modify behavioral pattern, as the level o comfort is established.