Panning For Gold

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What You'll Need:

• A Plastic Sand Sifter, or a metal pie plate with holes poked through the bottom
• A Large Bag of Play Sand
• Gold "Treasure" (e.g. pennies, chocolate gold coins, small rocks spray-painted gold, etc.)

Preparation:

If you have a sandbox, scatter your gold "treasure" in the box. Sweep the sand over the treasure to hide it. If you don't have a sandbox, purchase a bag of play sand from your local nursery or home improvement store. You can make a temporary sandbox using a small wading pool, or a wide, shallow cardboard box.


At the Party:

Allow each child a turn to search the sandbox with a sifter. Let the children search until they find at least 3 pieces of treasure. Set up a "Country Store" where the children can trade their treasure for small prizes, such as gummy candy snakes, water pistols, cowboy stickers, and other cowboy-themed party favors.