What You Need:

• Bucket
• Plastic knives
• Spade

• Use wet sand if you want the sand to stay where you put it.
• Before starting, think about the location. Don't start too close to the water's edge.
• Start building on a flat area.
• If you are using a bucket to shape blocks for your castle, be sure to tap the bucket a few times before you pack down the sand. It will help release trapped air that can ruin the structure.
• To build a tall tower, use wet sand to make the first level of the tower. It should look like a pancake about 1inch thick. Continue making and stacking pancakes until your tower is the height you want.
• Carefully shape and draw on the sides of your castle using sticks or pointed rocks.
• Make walls by using wet handfuls of sand. Using both hands, scoop up as much wet sand as you can hold. Gently press your hands together to squeeze out excess water and place the resulting sand clump where it’s needed to create your wall. Continue stacking until your wall is complete. High walls need a thick base and should narrow as they rise.
• Arches start out as walls, but then you tunnel through them to create an arch. Enlarge and shape the opening into the form of an arch by shaving off thin layers of excess sand. Plastic knives, butter knives, or putty knives all make ideal shaping tools.