Beach in a jar (for summer all year long)

Prep time: Overnight

Activity time: 30 mins

We went to the beach a number of times this summer.  On our last trip, we collected shells, driftwood, rocks, pine cones and sand for our final beach art project. 

We disinfected each item with bleach to kill any micro-organisms (and those that are not so micro).  Following the directions on the bleach container, I submerged our treasures in pails with the appropriate mixture of bleach and water and soaked everything overnight.  I also soaked the sand in such a mixture.  

Disinfecting the sand (in jars), shells, rocks and driftwood

  The next day, we washed off the shells and rinsed the sand.  We then lay everything out in the sun to dry, spreading the sand out on plastic shopping bags to expose as much as possible to the air.  Once everything was dry (an hour or two for the shells and sticks, a bit longer for the sand) we put some sand in each jar and then layered in our sea shore items.   

The finished product

I have one beach jar on our living room shelves for the family to enjoy and the boys have a jar in their room by the window.  These will remind us of the great times we had as a family at the beach this summer and help us remember that next summer isn’t too far away.