This post was contributed by Ness of One Perfect Day.
Simple Kids Play – Spring Themed Small World
Use simple items like felt scraps, stones and sticks to make this fun spring themed small world play scene. This fun kids play idea will encourage imagination, language, and fine motor skills.
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Make a Spring Small World Scene for Some Creative Kids Play!
Small world play scenes are always a hit with my son. He’s five years old now, and I’ve been creating small world play scenes since he was about two years old. He loves them as much now as ever. They are very simple to put together. Just pull together a few bits and pieces from around your home or garden and before you know it you’ll have a fun kids play activity to inspire little imaginations.
For our spring themed small world, we gather a large piece of green felt for some grass, and two pieces of blue fabric to make a frog pond and a duck pond. My son chose most of the materials for this scene. He scattered some rocks around the pond and then placed some blue glass beads to make “splashes in the water when the frogs are swimming” as he put it. The felt sun was left over from a weather sensory tub that we made a couple of years ago. A plastic leaf for a lily pad, and a few plastic frog toys and our frog watering hole was complete.
I made a path of white stones and some plastic flowers to add a spring feel to our “garden.” You could of course head outside and gather some real flowers for your own spring themed kids play. To make a tree, we used a cardboard tube and filled it with plastic leaves and flowers. I think this was my son’s favorite item in the whole scene.
I also arranged some foam letters to spell out the word “spring.” It was a great opportunity to include a little sight word practice into the activity.
To complete the scene, we made a little duck pond using glass pebbles, a few sticks and of course, a couple of toy ducks.
There are so many learning opportunities in this kind of kids play. Small world scenes are a great springboard for language learning and story telling. They are wonderful for fostering imagination and creativity, and as if that wasn’t already enough, they are also a great fine motor activity as kids pick up the small pieces and move them around during their play.
I think we will leave this scene out for a while, and we can then add to it and change it as the mood takes us. We may even gather leaves and flowers during some spring walks to add to our play.
What would you add to this small world play setup to give it a sunny spring feel? Share in the comments below!
Laura says
This small world is so beautiful! I love all the tiny details and opportunities to learn!
Krissy @ B-Inspired Mama says
Thanks for the comment, Laura! I love the different sensory elements she incorporated, too.
Jill says
This is a fantastic idea to welcome spring with. I love that you can change the scene as you like.
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