Small World Play is a really lovely way for children to use their imagination and play with others or independently for a while. Pretend play is often troublesome to beginning with for some of us. It feels strange to play like this now and then there’s when is a good time to play these type of activities with the kids?
Many times all these loose parts end up scattered in bins, boxes and around the house instead of in the hands of the kids.
Come view small world play with fresh eyes. Today’s show has a quick explanation of small world play. I’m sharing ideas for small world play. I also go into detail about common problems with small world play like when they get stuck playing the same scene or the big question- how can I encourage the children to play longer with these small world pieces.
Raising Playful Tots – the podcast for parents who want to make the most of their playtime and enjoy simple parenting
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Click the play button above and let’s get some ideas
Show notes:
Dinovember– plastic dinosaurs that come to life in your home each November.
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Something to play in or on
- Open a large cardboard box like the ones for appliances or your big box TV 1. Diorama 2. Cardboard box
- Large gardening trays
- Bins with lids
- Empty large containers
- old tyres
- shelves
- landscape mats
- trays
- cookie sheets
- dirt
- rice
- water
Ideas for Small World Play themes
Seasonal like Christmas, winter, autumn, spring, outdoors, beach,
Themes like: Ocean, water, artic, zoo, dinosaurs, moon, space, jungle, Safari, Forest, bugs woods,houses, construction, castles, farm, cars, suitcase, treasure hunts, cities, b
After popular characters, Frozen, Superheroes
Story related, fairy, fairytales, bear hunt
Compliments of small world play
- no sew mats, felt, playdough, sensory bins, light tables, fabric, playscapes made from felt, Stones, sticks
Where to get the small word play things
- zoos
- etsy
- ebay
- car boot sales
- yard sales
- toy shops
- charity shops
- around the house
- crafty stores
Peaceful Solutions to Minimize Family Strife with Specific Solutions part 2 of a series
Where do you get your small world play objects? ( In desperate need of more)
WHAT TO DO NEXT:
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I particularly loved this show. I’d never thought that children might need ‘help’ to play like this but it made perfect sense.
I mentioned this episode in a post on my blog this week but thought you might particularly like this one from a few years back: https://laundryinthetemple.com/10/
Thanks for an awesome show!
I’ve never heard of using PlayMobile like that before. Fantastic idea.
Thank you for the mention and sharing.