Paper Sandcastles
Sandcastle building without the sand in your toes
The Set Up
This is sandcastle building without the sand in your shoes. Gather a pile of textured, recycled and shiny bits that feel like the beach. Brown kraft wrap, honeycomb packing paper, repurposed painted scraps, blue cellophane for water, foil and shiny stickers for treasure. Add scissors, glue, washi tape and plenty of flat space to spread and layer.
You don’t need to steer this one too tightly. The joy is in the pile: a curated chaos of textures ready to be ripped, cut, stacked and transformed.
The Making
Before diving in, set the scene. Ask the children to close their eyes and imagine they’re at the beach, piling sand high, digging moats, adding towers and shells. Show photos of incredible sand sculptures or read from Alison Lester’s Magic Beach to stir ideas (a Smudge-forever favourite!). Rockpools, castles, whole underwater worlds, they are free to build whatever they can picture.
Then let it rip. Literally!
Your role here is to set the stage and then step back. Keep the table stocked, notice the choices children are making, and resist the urge to straighten edges or explain what a “real” sandcastle looks like. Every torn scrap or shiny piece is part of their story.
Children might stack scraps into towers, tuck treasures underneath layers, or sprawl their castles wide across the whole page. Others might build moats, rockpools, or tiny hidden rooms. The magic is in letting the collage take its own shape.
If you want to nudge the exploration, ask open questions instead of giving directions.
“What belongs at the very top of your castle?”
“Could you build something so tiny it almost disappears?”
“What would happen if the tide washed in and out again?”
Variations
Try building one giant castle together on butcher’s paper so every child adds their own tower, moat or treasure room.
Offer magazines such as National Geographic and let ocean creatures or landscapes creep into the castles.
Switch the base colour: ocean blue, sandy yellow, even black for a glowing night-time castle.
Take it three-dimensional by folding or rolling card so turrets lift off the page and feel like a construction more than a collage.
Materials
Brown kraft paper, honeycomb packing wrap, recycled packaging and painted paper scraps
Blue cellophane, foil, shiny stickers, washi tape and other sparkly or textured bits
Scissors, glue sticks, PVA
Cardboard rolls or folded card for three-dimensional castles (optional)
Magazines such as National Geographic for cut-out surprises
Back to Top
Paper Sandcastles
Sandcastle building without the sand in your toes
Bookmark
Collage
The Set Up
This is sandcastle building without the sand in your shoes. Gather a pile of textured, recycled and shiny bits that feel like the beach. Brown kraft wrap, honeycomb packing paper, repurposed painted scraps, blue cellophane for water, foil and shiny stickers for treasure. Add scissors, glue, washi tape and plenty of flat space to spread and layer.
You don’t need to steer this one too tightly. The joy is in the pile: a curated chaos of textures ready to be ripped, cut, stacked and transformed.
The Making
Before diving in, set the scene. Ask the children to close their eyes and imagine they’re at the beach, piling sand high, digging moats, adding towers and shells. Show photos of incredible sand sculptures or read from Alison Lester’s Magic Beach to stir ideas (a Smudge-forever favourite!). Rockpools, castles, whole underwater worlds, they are free to build whatever they can picture.
Then let it rip. Literally!
Your role here is to set the stage and then step back. Keep the table stocked, notice the choices children are making, and resist the urge to straighten edges or explain what a “real” sandcastle looks like. Every torn scrap or shiny piece is part of their story.
Children might stack scraps into towers, tuck treasures underneath layers, or sprawl their castles wide across the whole page. Others might build moats, rockpools, or tiny hidden rooms. The magic is in letting the collage take its own shape.
If you want to nudge the exploration, ask open questions instead of giving directions.
“What belongs at the very top of your castle?”
“Could you build something so tiny it almost disappears?”
“What would happen if the tide washed in and out again?”
Variations
Try building one giant castle together on butcher’s paper so every child adds their own tower, moat or treasure room.
Offer magazines such as National Geographic and let ocean creatures or landscapes creep into the castles.
Switch the base colour: ocean blue, sandy yellow, even black for a glowing night-time castle.
Take it three-dimensional by folding or rolling card so turrets lift off the page and feel like a construction more than a collage.
Materials
Brown kraft paper, honeycomb packing wrap, recycled packaging and painted paper scraps
Blue cellophane, foil, shiny stickers, washi tape and other sparkly or textured bits
Scissors, glue sticks, PVA
Cardboard rolls or folded card for three-dimensional castles (optional)
Magazines such as National Geographic for cut-out surprises
Back to Top
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Thoughts?
Would love to hear if youv'e tried this or have any ideas on how to make it even better!
