Is sunaasobi a noun? and how do I make it into a verb?
I am confused about the word sunaasobi - すなあそび　
One reference said it meant to play in the sand - which suggests it is a verb, but another said that it means sandpit, which would make it a noun. I understand that it is made up of the words 'suna', meaning sand, and 'asobi', from asobu, to play.
So if I wanted to say that the children like playing in the sand (specifically, at the beach, not in a sandpit in a park, or a a school) - how would I say it? If sunaasobi is a noun, then I assume to play in one would be 'sunaasobi ni asobimasu"?
I am a bit confused, so would appreciate some help with this
thanks

Question

Is sunaasobi a noun? and how do I make it into a verb?
I am confused about the word sunaasobi - すなあそび　
One reference said it meant to play in the sand - which suggests it is a verb, but another said that it means sandpit, which would make it a noun.  I understand that it is made up of the words 'suna', meaning sand, and 'asobi', from asobu, to play.
So if I wanted to say that the children like playing in the sand (specifically, at the beach, not in a sandpit in a park, or a a school) - how would I say it?  If sunaasobi is a noun, then I assume to play in one would be 'sunaasobi ni asobimasu"?
I am a bit confused, so would appreciate some help with this
thanks

Answer

すなあそび is a noun which means the action of playing in the sand. 
あそぶ is a verb but あそび is a noun. 
To make a verb, we often add する like べんきょうする. In this case, we say すなあそびをする. (The literal translation is "to play the sand play".) You can also say すなであそぶ like "to play with tha sand".

I hope this helps you.

Answer

Thank you - that is helpful.  I was wary of adding 'suru' as I had been warned not to think i could just add 'suru' to any noun to turn it into a verb - there is a specified list of words for that.  But I see from your explanation that すなあそびをする　is quite a different thing to べんきょうする　where there is no particle を　between the noun and suru.  It is more like saying ピアノ　を　れんしゅう。
So, if I want to say that when the children go the beach they like playing in the sand - is this how to do it?

子どもがうみに行くときすなであそぶすきです。

thanks for your help Ryoko