Sand has been a part of my life since I was born. From an early age, I have lovely memories of spending family time at the Sand Pit. But it wasn't just an ordinary sand pit. It’s actually a place dearer to my heart than most, in the heart of the South Downs National Park, at Rackham. The surrounding woodland and its walks are fondly known as the Sunset Pines, even though most of the pines in the name have now sadly fallen.

The Sand Pit is what our family calls a small cliff face made almost entirely of sand, topped by trees. The sand here is special to me. I've climbed up it, got stuck more than once doing so, had secret meetings with boyfriends, raced along the tracks on a bicycle, cried my heart out, contemplated whilst taking in the beautiful views, photographed it and walked, and walked and walked. It really is a favourite place.

At every age, there's been an activity or meaning which has kept the Sunset Pines and its sandy woodland in my life. Walking there recently - a snatched hour of aloneness which I treasure when I can - I suddenly realised the connection between this special place and The Sand Kitchen! I know I’m not the only child who enjoys playing with sand, but in that moment, I connected with something deep which I had forgotten. One of the reasons I love sand so much.

Sand has special qualities. On the beach, at least in the UK, it’s sticky enough to build castles, with moats and turrets and endless possibilities. In the Sand Kitchen, the children naturally understand that here they can play with this material which doesn’t stick, in fact flows freely and fast, feels soft and cool. No explanation is needed except the occasional demonstration to get them started. If you’ve never experienced something and caution is your default, as it is for some of us, a quick demo is as good as permission.

My inspiration for The Sand Kitchen comes from Ute Strub. She is a German physiotherapist and teacher who has been working to promote free play, free movement and deeply connected care for children, both in Germany and now in the UK, the US and further afield. In turn, Ute’s inspirations came from her own teachers - Elfriede Hengstenberg and Emmi Pikler.

It’s my fervent wish to learn as much as I can from Ute and bring her work and that of Hengstenberg and Pikler to the widest audience I can. I already run classes and workshops based on the Pikler approach and I’m in the process of formulating something based on marrying together Ute’s work with my own, to help adults reconnect with their inner child - freeing up their imagination, their sense of joy, and helping them understand/remember what it means to be a child.

I believe that learning happens most easily when we are in an environment that feels safe, relaxed and calm. That’s why my classes and The Sand Kitchen are places where I nurture those feelings, both for the children and the adults who attend. In the hour or so that children spend in my spaces, they have both the opportunity for learning and an opportunity to process their feelings and let go of their stress.

The world is a very stimulating place. Sometimes we all need an agenda-free place where (almost) anything goes…

Thoughts from The Sand Kitchen...

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