Take one tray of sand...
Lay out a tray with miscellaneous bits and bobs on it...
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| L to R, from top: shells, glow-in-the-dark bangles, pebbles, string of beads, leather scraps, wool scraps, ratten ball, fake greenery, coloured matchsticks, a shallow container filled with coloured rice, part of an egg carton, a lid from a pringles container, some bells, some icy-pole sticks |
Take a few homeless fairies...
This has to rank way up in my Top Ten kids activities! Eden loved, loved, LOVED it! She played for almost two hours by herself, which is pretty close to a miracle for a three-year old. Fair warning though: the clean up is huge if you decide to do it indoors. The weather here was foul, so indoors it was, but next time - the deck, for sure.
Small world play is a wonderful vehicle for a child's imagination. I think it allows them to make sense of situations which they are trying to process, and can really offer insights into how your child views the world around them. It made me smile to see Eden acting out scenarios with her fairies that she sees at home every day ("darling, it's almost time to hop into the fairy car... what colours can you see over here?....Uh-oh, the tickle monster is coming!"). So cute!
This is the finished version of her Fairy World:
How do you do Small World Play?
Thanks for reading! ~L.
This post was featured at H is for Homeschooling
Awesome idea! I keep wanting to do something like this for my little boy. I see so many great ideas.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jenny, I hope he enjoys it as much as my daughter does! :D
DeleteWhat a FUN world!! I bet your daughter had a GREAT time!! Thanks for linking up to TGIF! Looking forward to seeing what you link up next week =-)
ReplyDeleteBeth
Thanks Beth, she certainly did enjoy it! Looking forward to the next TGIF :D
DeleteWow, this is the first time I have seen something like this and I love it! Is the theory behind it that it is similar to sensory play but with more of a pretend play factor? I guess Boogie does kind of do this with his cars but I have never intentionally set something like this up for him to create with. I am going to have to ponder this one! Thank you so much for sharing at WOTT!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sierra!
DeleteFor me, small world play is the sensory version of toys like Polly Pockets, Leggo, Littlest Pet Shop, etc, in that it enables your child to have control over an environment and use their imaginations.
I think the key difference is that small world play allows a child to have a specific environment (like what you and Boogie did with the mini-sensory bin, with the igloo and the wolf?) and to enact scenarios within that environment. Also, I really, really believe it can help kids to make sense of things they see. For example, my hubby had to have a minor procedure in hospital, and we had told Eden what to expect and reassured her, etc. Then, I set up a 'hospital' for her little dolls at home (a shoebox) and Eden decided that dolly's daddy had to go into hospital, but he was ok and was coming home soon. She acted that out for a few days! Kids are amazing little people, aren't they?
Sorry, I hope that wasn't too wordy!! Lol.
~ Lauzi
Never too wordy! I love chatting back and forth with fellow teaching moms :) I am glad that I accidentally did some small world play with Boogie! Haha! He did love playing with all the ice! And that idea about the hospital is great! Hopefully we won't have any reason to do that until we have another baby :D But I will think about other ways to incorporate this into his schooling, especially since he did love the little ice world so much.
Deletedefinitely a top 10! every kid would like to play here!!
ReplyDeleteI am your newest follower..pls follow back if you can.
Thank you! I'll check out your site asap! :D
DeleteWhat a great idea!! I definitely will be trying this one. Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!
ReplyDeleteThanks Carrie! ~ L.
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