Simple Construction Activities For The Young Child
Blocks are as important today as they were a century ago. As essential tools children use in their play, blocks also play a vital role in their development.
We have assembled simple block activities for toddlers and preschoolers that support their play and development.
Block Play And Child Development
The link between block play and child development is undeniable. The benefits of kids playing with blocks are priceless. In a previous post, we discussed the value of block play in your child’s early years. Read our detailed post on the benefits of block play.
Through block play, children build skills in the following development domains:
We want to be clear that open-ended and unstructured play is still a critical part of block play. Kids need free time to build and develop their imagination and creativity. So, be flexible. Start with a plan, but let your children take the lead. Keep it fun, and let them be imaginative!
Give children toys that are powered by their imagination, not by batteries.
H. Jackson Brown
What’s important is keeping a balance between child-led play and adult-guided activities. This interaction builds cooperation between children and adults while encouraging adults to play.
At first, you will want to keep things simple based on the stages of block play. As their skills develop, you can add more complex activities. For example, using regular blocks in surprising new ways or using unusual items as blocks for building. Turn routine block play into enhanced experiences.
Kids love blocks! Our youngsters learn best by leading their own play with hands-on activities. Therefore, what better way to build their skills than to provide fun and interactive block play activities? So, let’s look at some simple block activities for toddlers and preschoolers that you can incorporate into your child’s play.
To get you started, here are a few activities to engage your children during block play.
Block Activities For Toddlers
Block play for toddlers is usually simple. Typically, a 2-year-old can build a 4+ block tower, while a 3-year-old may build a 6+ tower. Keep these general milestones in mind when planning your block activities for toddlers.
Have each person build their own block tower. First, stand close, and as it gets easier, move further back. Then, use different balls (i.e., tennis, soccer, bouncy, Wiffle) to knock them down.
Create sheets of paper with numbers using 0-9—one number per page. If you want to use them repeatedly, laminating will protect them. You could also use floor tiles with numbers written on them.
Next, have your child start creating corresponding towers. 0 blocks go on the 0; a 1-block tower goes on the 1; a 2-block tower goes on the 2; and so on. Younger toddlers may only be able to complete up to 4 or 5 towers. Use the number of sheets to match your child’s skill level.
Tower Building
Here is a twist on a classic. Take turns with your child and create different types of towers. For example, why not create one using the largest number of blocks instead of the tallest tower? Or how about the most exciting or creative tower?
This game is fun for toddlers and preschoolers to strengthen their counting and fine motor skills. Start with some snap-together blocks like the Building Toys for Toddlers – Plus Plus® BIG and a die. The goal is to see who can build the tallest tower before the blocks run out.
Taking turns, players roll the die and then stack the same number of blocks on their tower. When all the blocks are gone, the winner has the tallest tower. While the idea is to stack them on top of the other, your child may choose to be creative and go wide and tall.
Remember, it is not about the “right” way but that they are using their fine motor skills and counting. Are you looking for more ways to build fine motor coordination? Check out this post on Fine Motor Activities For Preschoolers and Toddlers.
Block Floor Puzzles
Using painter’s tape (please test it first before putting it on your floor), mark off a square or rectangle on your floor. Usually, about one to two feet works well, but it depends on how many blocks you have to fill it in and your time frame.
Then, let the kids fill in the square with their blocks. They may also want to stack them, which is fine until they run out of blocks. At this point, you can suggest they go back and use those to complete filling in the square.
Block Activities
Use your imagination when planning your block play activities. As your preschoolers’ skills increase, their block play will become more complex. Now is an excellent time to add more block-center materials for imaginative play.
Using blocks and other props from your block play area, have your child create a maze on the floor. The complexity will vary by age. Have your child blow lightweight balls (i.e., ping pong, pom-poms, or other hollow, light plastic balls) through the maze using a short, wide straw.
Pushing cars through the maze using their hands (not the straw) is also fun.
Block Obstacle Course
Here is an adaptation of the above maze for toy vehicles or balls. Create an obstacle course using blocks and other items found around the house. Add things of interest, like cardboard tubes for tunnels and cookie sheets make fantastic ramps.
By including magnetic blocks like Tegu Blocks, they can create obstructions on the sloping ramp that will stay in place. Watching the cars or balls bounce off the obstacles on their way down the ramp is a lot of fun!
Fill In Block Shapes
Take 5 or 10 square blocks and create the block shapes. Create different patterns with the blocks on a sheet of paper and trace each one, creating an open design.
Next, give your child either the 5 or 10 blocks you used and ask if they know how to fit them into the shape. You can create several layouts for variety, increasing the number of blocks as your child becomes more proficient.
Block Measuring
Kids love to measure things! One fun way to get them involved is to have them stack blocks to measure things.
The height of a table or a chair
End to end to measure a doorway or the length of a couch
How many blocks tall is their truck or doll?
Have them measure other children or you. Lie on the floor and line up blocks from head to toe. Then they can count how many blocks tall they are.
Block Rainbow
For this activity, it is helpful to have pictures of rainbows available to visualize. For younger children, draft a rainbow on a large sheet of paper. Let older kids draw their own rainbow.
Next, have them sort some colorful blocks by color. Then, by placing the colored blocks along the matching color arc, have them build the block rainbow.
Block Play and Art
Using blocks in unusual ways models creativity for our kids. For this activity, colorful, simple-shaped blocks work best. Have your child build a quick design using the blocks.
Next, your child will recreate the design with paper and paint. By encouraging them to tell you what they see, you can discuss colors, shapes, and relationship vocabulary (i.e., on top, next to, under).
Shape Blocks And Picture Cards
Build some designs using the shape blocks. Create simple and more complex ones (multiple blocks of the same color, unusually stacked, or multiple layers). Now, take a picture of each model and print them out in color. You can attach them to an index card for stability, and if you plan to use them repeatedly, lamination helps keep them in good shape.
Invite your child to build and match the picture cards. Then, photograph it and create a card with their model! Once they master it, you can ask them to develop their own design.
Block Picture Cards Variation
As your preschooler’s building skills develop, you can create a more intricate version of the picture cards using real-life photos of famous formations—for example, the White House, Eiffel Tower, Machu Picchu, or Big Ben to inspire.
Simply print out pictures from the internet and display them in their block area. Have too many to show individually? Hole-punch them and tie them together like a book.
Extending Block Play
Is your child bored with building the same old things? Which, by the way, is perfectly OK.
Are they in a rut?
Kids need time to be bored; That is how creativity is born.
By adding a few simple props to the block play area, you can inspire your child’s building activities. Remember, these are not meant to be adult-guided activities but add a new perspective to encourage kids in their block play ideas.
Encourage your child to visualize their own town or city. What are some of their favorite places? Where would they build them? It is important not to stifle their creativity with too much reality but rather let their imagination soar. Here are a few props to add:
business signs- some premade (school, library, playground, bakery, grocery store, gas station, fire station, police station, etc.); more can be made based on the child’s request
natural elements like stones, leaves, and small trees for creating parks and landscape
interlocking road or train tracks (black masking tape makes an inexpensive, quick, and easy alternative)
photographs of cities, parks, and playgrounds
Block Activity: Build A Zoo
Has your child been to the zoo? Encourage them to think about that time. If they haven’t been, ask them to imagine it. What would they want to see? Adding some of the following props will stimulate their imaginations.
create cold spaces by wrapping some blocks in aluminum foil
natural elements like stones, leaves, and small trees for creating animal habitats
pictures of zoos
Block Activity: Build An Airport or Transportation Hub
Has your child ever been to an airport? Train or bus station? If so, what was it like? If not, have them picture it. Adding some of the following props will spark their creativity.
Incredible Block Activities! They Are Blocks of Fun!
Make the most of your preschooler or toddler’s interest in blocks – wooden, Lego, and ABC – with 47 easy block activities for preschoolers!
We tend to have blocks out a lot around here.
Whether its Legos, or wooden blocks, or our ABC blocks (these are all affiliate links, thank you for your support!), we include them in a lot of the activities that we do. And what preschooler doesn’t love block play?
Blocks are kind of a staple in most households, am I right?
Blocks of Fun! 47 Block Activities
Boys and girls both like blocks. They’re a lot of fun!
Turns out, kids can learn a lot from these simple toys. But, what exactly?
And I’ve collected some wonderful ways to play with blocks, so we can maximize our use of these awesomely simple toys. I think the simple toys the best because they can be used the most ways?
You’ll Love These 47 Block Activities
What can preschoolers do with blocks? There are nearly endless ways to play with blocks, no matter which specific types you happen to have on hand. These are just my favorite block play activities for preschoolers!
What are block activities?
Block play can be done with any type of block, or building toy you have lying around!
Blocks are a common toy for young toddlers and preschoolers to have.
I’m sharing 12 fun play dough activity ideas that your toddler will adore. These activities are open-ended, so toddlers can play and explore as long as they want.
Play Dough + Mirrors
All you need is play dough and a mirror or mirrored tray. Place the dough directly on the mirror.
Your toddler can explore reflections and shadows while playing with dough.
Alternative: Prop the mirror up in front of the dough so your toddler can view their creations from different angles.
Play Dough + Nature Items
Add nature items such as pinecones, twigs, stones, acorn hats, shells, leaves, and flowers to dough play.
This is an excellent way for toddlers to explore nature and learn about different textures and shapes. Show your toddler how to gently press the objects into the dough to explore impressions and patterns.
Pretend Play with Dough
This is a great activity for toddlers who love to pretend play. Play dough can become a prop as part of an imaginative game.
Try offering:
cookie cutters
pie pans
silicone baking items
muffin liners
pizza cutters
citrus presses
aprons
oven mitts
toy tools
Pipe Cleaners + Dough Sculptures
This is a great activity for toddlers who love to play with pipe cleaners. They can use the pipe cleaners to create sculptures out of play dough.
Utensils + Dough
This is for toddlers who love using child-sized (or regular-sized) tools. Use play dough play as an opportunity for your toddler to practice using tools.
Show your toddler how they can use scissors, butter knives (plastic if you’re worried), tweezers, and more to play with the play dough.
Play Dough + Straws
Your toddler can explore dough using paper, plastic, and reusable straws.
Wrap straws in dough
Poke dough and explore holes
Explore how differences between different types of straws
Create sculptures using cut pieces of straws
Textured Play Dough
Add sand, glitter, or even rice to play dough to create new textures for your toddler to explore.
Rice and grains will absorb the moisture from the dough. So, maybe save this for dough that’s at the end of its use.
Dough + Object Prints
This activity helps toddlers investigate familiar objects in a new way. Offer your toddler some household loose parts and show them how to make impressions in the dough.
Explore patterns of items such as combs, keys, legos, fabric squares, or large buttons.
This activity gives toddlers information they can use for more complex dough creations in the future.
For toddlers who love small world play, introduce toy animals, insects, people, or action figures to dough play. This adds an extra level of imagination and creativity.
Alternative: Toy cars, construction, or tractors
Press + Smash
This activity takes a little extra preparation. It’s a great play dough activity for toddlers learning about their own strength or toddlers who are not comfortable touching dough. Toddlers get to experience dough through an entirely different sensation.
You will need two sheets of wax paper or parchment paper, approximately one foot long.
Place the dough between the sheets of paper and invite your toddler to press and smash the dough.
Alternatives for this activity include:
Use a rolling pin
Walk or stand on the paper and dough
Smash with a toy hammer
Color Mixing with Play Dough
This might sound monstrous, but mixing different doughs is an incredible learning experience. Mixing colors introduces essential art principles that toddlers will use for a lifetime.
You can offer a muffin tin or sorting tray during this activity. This can prompt your toddler to sort out colors as they mix them.
Blocks + Dough
This is a unique twist on block play. Use the play dough between blocks while building.
The dough can also be used on the outside of block structures to create doors, windows, or any other brilliant ideas your toddler has.
When Can Toddlers Start Using Play Dough?
Typically by 8 months, toddlers can start using regular play dough. Until then, you can help them explore the play dough by: Choose a non-toxic play dough or make your own at home.
How to Play With Play Dough
For toddlers and three-year-olds, dough activities should be incredibly open-ended. They are still investigating different ways to play with dough at this age.
Toddlers are also starting to learn about objects and their own abilities, so give them lots of opportunities to explore.
Here are some tips for play dough play:
Give them a small amount of play dough to start with. You can always give them more if they want it.
Let them play with the dough however they want, within safe boundaries.
Encourage them to use their imagination and creativity.
Let them explore the dough with their fingers, hands, and tools.
Help them understand that play dough can be molded into any shape they want.
Be patient and let them take their time. They will learn through play and trial and error.
Play dough is a great way to promote creativity and sensory learning in toddlers. The activities suggested in this blog post are just a few of the many possibilities. Be patient and let your toddler explore the play dough, adding props and ideas to deepen their learning. Enjoy!
Building with Playdough | Simple STEM Challenges for Kids
When my now 11 year old daughter was very little, she absolutely loved forts. It didn’t really matter what they were made of – elaborate with sheets, blankets, and Christmas lights … or as simple as a box. It was something about having a place of her own. A small, cozy spot that only she would fit. Sammy, at the age of 4 is still very much in the midst of his fort love – and with Benjamin coming to the ripe old age of 18 months, he too is entering this magical time. So I thought it time to do a post on AMAZING DIY Kids Forts!
As you can imagine, and have likely experienced yourself, the more you do something the more mundane it can become — that is unless you spice it up a bit. I am not one for mundane, and my 3 wild ones are quite like their Mama on this. So we have had some fun and practice making and creating DIY kids forts … for coming up on 10 years now.
Here are my top 5 DIY Kids Fort Hacks:
1. Use a Fitted Sheet Over a Table. This is our go to DIY kids fort. We throw a few twin size sheets over a table to make ‘walls’ and then pop a fitted sheet (either twin or double, depending on the size of the table) to hold them in place – this works like a charm! I cannot tell you how many times our fort, “FELL DOWN AGAIN!!!!” before I stumbled upon this gem.
2. Use a Tarp and Secure with a Stick. Our go to outdoor fort is throwing a tarp over a piece of rope. Given the dilemma mentioned above (of my wild running boys) the tarp would fall of a lot. I saw this neat tip on Pinterest, and traced it to The Chive. Using a stick, secure the rope through the hole in the tarp – a creative and simple way to save your fort (and sanity) from rambunctious little ones.
3. Add some levels. Perhaps it is just my youngest two, as my daughter never seemed to have this trouble – and I am not throwing the whole gender card on the table here – just saying – my youngest two are boys, and any fort we seem to make turns into a race track. In and out, in and out, round and back, through again, until (inevitably) crash. One way I have found to help this a bit is by adding ‘levels’ so to speak. Giving them something to climb and explore, burning that energy and need to move. I stumbled upon this hammock idea via Pinterest, but unfortunately it was only a picture. We tied up a sheet around the table before placing our fitted sheet over top and it made such a lovely cozy area for my little guys to climb into and explore.
4. Add Lights. Our World Of Us shows how they added lights to their box play fort. We have done this a few times, and it is always a very big hit! Also neat for an outside fort, or truthfully – to add to absolutely any fort. Just ask my kids.
5. Be Prepared to Leave it Up. The dilemma with using our kitchen table as our main fort making station, is that it is our kitchen table. It is kind of an important aspect to our day. Making a fort in my little guys closet, or outside under a tarp is ideal because we can leave it up for as long as my kids would like. w e can add to it, or change it, and they can seek comfort and quiet in it whenever they like.
So there you have a few of the tips and tricks I have learned throughout my time as a fort-making-Mama. I will add to this list over the years ahead, as my time in this roll is still in its prime – and I feel so very happy about that. I really do love these fort making years.
Anything I can do to provide a little comfort and security to my child’s big world I most certainly will. Even if it means we occasionally eat dinner in a kitchen table fort.
Accessories for Kids’ Forts
Make your forts for kids extra special with these accessories:
Crazy Forts Lights attach to the connecting joints on the Crazy Forts kits.
Grab a mat for the floor beneath the fort so that your kids have a soft, comfortable surface to play on.
Beanbag chairsprovide comfortable seating inside your forts for kids. This beanbag chair has the added bonus of being a stuffed animal storage unit. Sold!
What can kids do in the fort?
Sometimes kids can benefit from parents planting a seed of an idea for how they can use their forts. To jumpstart your imagination, here are some creative scenes shared by fellow moms:
Cardboard box trains that made great props for reenacting Thomas and Friends episodes
Lions’ dens inspired by The Lion King
Little House on the Prairie houses
Werewolf dens
Mermaid hideouts utilizing the bathtub
Pirate ships leading to treasure-seeking adventures
Space stations and rocket ships
Hogwarts castle from Harry Potter
Make plans to build a fort on the same day as a friend and take one another on “tours” via video chat
However your kids use them, and whatever they are made of, your kids’ forts are sure to lead to lasting memories.
Everyone needs a good fort, whether it’s a secret lair, a grand castle, or deep, dark cave. Luckily, it’s pretty easy to make your own fort out of things you have around your home, like blankets, sheets, pillows, books—whatever you can find! We’ll show you how to set up your own basic fort, give you some ideas on other ways to build your perfect hideaway, and let you in on how to deck it out to make it comfy, cozy, and stocked with snacks.
Things You Should Know
Drape a lightweight blanket or sheet over 2 rows of chairs with the backs facing each other. Then secure the blanket with heavy objects or clothespins.
Use tension curtain rods, clotheslines, or even a table as the ceiling of your fort.
Stock your fort with games, snacks, string lights, and a fan. That way, you can hunker down for a long time before you have to leave!
Set up 2 rows of chairs with the backs facing each other. Chairs are a great option since their backs provide a high ceiling for a fort, giving you plenty of room inside. Position the rows of chairs in front of a sofa, bed, or a wall if you want the fort to have a back wall. Space the rows of chairs about 4 to 6 ft (1.2 to 1.8 m) apart, but adjust them depending on the size of your blanket.[1]If you don’t have chairs to support your fort, look for other sturdy, tall items nearby. Laundry hampers, bunk beds, ottomans, and heavy boxes are prime fort-building materials, so long as they won’t easily fall over
Tip: Your blanket fort will need to have enough room for you to crawl and play in, so choose an area with plenty of space and avoid blocking doorways. The living room, dining room, or bedroom are all good options.
Place blankets and pillows on the floor of the fort to make it comfortable. Fold a comforter or other fluffy blanket in half and lay it down, or layer a few blankets to add cushioning to the bottom of the fort. Then, place several cushions or pillows around the edges of the fort.[2]Also place extra blankets or sleeping bags in the fort to cover yourself up.If the ceiling of your fort is high enough, place a few low chairs or stools in the fort for sitting, such as bean bag chairs or ottomans.
Drape a sheet or blanket over the furniture pieces. Hang a large sheet or a lightweight blanket over the top of the fort so that it goes over the edges of the furniture. Pull the blanket or sheet taut so that it’s not drooping down in the center of the fort’s ceiling.[3]
Layer more than 1 sheet or blanket over the furniture to provide a darker environment inside of the fort.Use a light-colored sheet to allow some light into the inside of the fort, or use a dark-colored sheet or blanket to make it darker in the fort.
Secure the blankets with heavy objects or clothespins. The edges of the blanket will eventually slip off the furniture if you don’t weigh them down. Grab a few books or other heavy objects and place them on the edges of the blanket. Clothespins or rubber bands are also great ways to secure the edges of a sheet onto some types of furniture. For example, if you’re using a couch as part of your fort, clip the sheet’s edges to the fabric on the couch using a clothespin.[4]Propping large pillows or couch cushions against the fort’s framework can also help to secure the blankets.
1Use an extendable curtain rod to support the ceiling in a small space. If you are building the fort in a hallway, closet, or other small space, use a tension rod as a support for the ceiling of your fort. Extend the tension rod over the center of where you want the fort’s ceiling to be. Then, drape your blanket or sheet over the rod. Use smaller pieces of furniture to support the lower portion of the sheet or blanket.[5]This fort is perfect if you want to create a ceiling that is high enough to walk under.Make sure that the blanket or sheet you use is long enough to reach the floor. Or, set up the rod low enough that your blanket can touch the floor.
Safety Precaution: Make sure that the rod is secure before you hang a sheet or blanket on it. Test it by tugging gently on the center to make sure it doesn’t fall.
Extend a clothesline across the room for an extra-large fort. If you want a large, long fort, then string a clothesline from 1 end of your living room or bedroom to the other. Tie the line to wall hooks or sturdy, tall furniture. Then, drape blankets and use smaller pieces of furniture to keep the blankets from caving in. This will allow you to create a fort that can span the entire length of a room. If you need more stability, simply tie on more strings![6]
For a wider fort, set up 2 clotheslines running parallel to each other and hang the blankets over both of them. Drape a sheet from an outdoor clothesline to make a quick and easy outdoor fort.
Drape a blanket over a 4-legged table. A quick and easy way to make a fort is to use a table as your base. Pull the chairs away from a 4-legged table and drape a large blanket over it, and voila! Your fort is complete! If you need to, hang a blanket over the sides of the table and place a heavy object on top to keep them in place.[7]
Make sure to choose a table that is high enough for you to fit underneath.Use a blanket that is large enough to cover all 4 sides of the table.
1Add lights to the fort to let you see when you’re inside. If you want to read inside your fort, or play board games with siblings or friends, you’ll need to add some lights. Christmas or string lights look great, and they come in all sorts of colors. String the lights across the ceiling of the fort, or place them on the ground around the edges of the fort.[8]
Also place a few flameless candles or a battery-powered lantern inside of the fort.A flashlight works, too! Use it to light up your face while telling a spooky story.Make sure your lights don’t burn too hot, which could be a fire hazard.
Create tunnels with boxes and additional blankets. If you have an empty box lying around, use it to connect your fort to a second fort, or simply make a tunnel going into the fort, like the entrance to a beaver dam. Open up the top and bottom of the box and lay it on its side at the edge of the fort. Then, drape a blanket over the box to help it blend in with your fort.[9]Place multiple boxes in a row to make a long tunnel into and out of your fort.
3Place a fan at the end of the opening to keep the space cool. Forts can get pretty hot, especially after a busy day of adventuring. Place a fan in front of the opening to the fort to help circulate air throughout it.[10]
Avoid hanging any blankets behind the fan—they may get stuck in it and break it.Using a fan is also a great way to make an inflatable fan fort.
Bring games, books, and other types of entertainment into the fort. If you plan to spend a lot of time relaxing in your fort, make sure to bring a variety of fun items into it. Bring a few board or card games into the fort if you will have friends or siblings in there with you, or bring a good book if you will be in the fort alone. You could also bring a tablet or laptop into the fort if you want to watch a movie or play games.[11]Make an opening that faces a TV, so you can watch movies from the comfort of your fort.Tip: Avoid bringing too many items or large bulky items into the fort. These will clutter the space and make it harder to move around.
Stock your fort with snacks and drinks. You don’t want to have to leave the fort to get a drink of water or something to eat! Put some non-perishable drinks and snacks in the fort so you won’t have to go in search of food and drink for a while. Some good options include:
Whole fruit, such as oranges, apples, or bananas, Pretzels, Chips, Crackers, Cookies, Beef jerky, Juice boxes, Water bottles
Are you ready to build with your Kids?
Cardboard Box Fort
A cardboard box fort works just as well outside as inside (during the warm months), and we can't get over the toy bin and spyglass that have been added to the sides.
A is for amazing! Whether you build this sturdy A-frame playhouse yourself or make it a woodworking project for kids, the end result is astonishing. We love the step-by-step over At Home With Ashley which includes all the supplies you’ll need.
With a little bit of imagination, mama Christie over at Raising Whasians made this no-sew kids' outdoor fort. Throw in a flashlight, books and your little camper's favorite things, and you have a backyard oasis.
This teepee fort is an inventive project that bigger kids can help to build. Grab books, snacks and other favorite items to make this fort extra sweet! We found the how-to over at How Wee Learn.
Looking for a modern outdoor fort for kids? Then this is your playhouse. We love the creativity used over at A Beautiful Mess to build this sleek yellow play fort. It even has a swing set and a slide.
Kids can take fort design into their own hands with this amazing idea from Babble Dabble Do. They’ll love putting it together and painting it themselves.
Bring the spirit of an indoor blanket fort outside with this easy-to-make version from Clean Rachel Wolf. After all, the less time you spend setting it up, the more time the kids will have to play.
If you’ve got good trees in your backyard and DIY skills, then this tree fort from Hands On As We Grow might be the perfect fit for you. It’s the kind of fort that can be made in a weekend and added to as time goes on.
Take a cue from Mama. Papa. Bubba. and craft this cute teepee in your backyard. With bamboo stakes, a king-sized sheet and clothespins, it’ll come together in five minutes.
This fort from Ikat Bag just might be your kiddo’s new favorite hangout spot. You can pick up everything you’ll need to make it at the hardware store, and your cozy tent will be ready in no time.
Try out this A-frame tent from Babble Dabble Do, made with a convenient fort-building kit. The building process is a great way to teach kids about architecture, and the hangout area doesn’t hurt either.
How cool is this twig fort by Little City Farm? It’s a project for kids since you can get your whole crew involved in gradually finding the twigs and building this outdoor fort.
If you’ve got a little bookworm on your hands, encourage them to get outside by crafting a cute fort like this one from Desde My Ventana. With pillows, a stack of books, and a few snacks on hand, they’ll be set for the whole afternoon.
Space Rocket Fort
This last one is for all you DIY masters out there. It was a year in the making (see the YouTube video here), and you can find the instructions at Instructables.
...............................Building Small Worlds For Playdates
Providing your child with good quality toys will ensure that they get the most benefit from their toys and sensory experiences and hope that the toys will last for years to come. However, some toys can be dangerous or poorly constructed, which can result in serious injuries, including choking and strangulation.
Use less toys but better more versatile toys if you are on a budget. Dollar Store Toys are seldom safe for little Hands and mouths!!! Let it be your Mantra: Less toys-but better toys.
TIP: Imaginary themed play is difficult if they have not seen or touched the real thing- A child from Denver may not know the feeling of being on a beach- A child that lives near the beach may not be able to imagine a mountains size or beauty. Television and other media (like Books) often give them enough reference to play along with the theme and objects. Themed play often lends itself to learning more about their playful interests.
VINTAGE LITTLE PEOPLE OR WOODEN PLAYSETS
Affordable Small World Play
Love small world play but not the cost of the resources? Want to see 5 easy and engaging small world set ups? Read on for some low cost, high interest ideas...
What is Small World Play?
Small world play is literally playing with small versions of things which are found (or imagined!) in the world. For example, it could be a miniature representation of a zoo, a building site, a fairy world or a woodland - the possibilities are endless!
Small world play is a wonderful way to develop your child’s imagination, creativity and story telling skills. Here are some examples of how you can create your own small world set ups.
You can use toys which you already have or easily create your own with a little imagination. Random materials,loose parts, fabric and paper/card are all that you will need! If you have books which link to your theme, it's also a great idea to add these.
If you don't have azoo set like this one from Argos, you can create your own enclosures from junk materials.
Paint boxes to make shelters for your animals and use blocks to create zoo enclosure fencing.
Digger World
Digger World
Digger world is sure to be a hit with little ones! Brown parcel paper makes an ideal base. Cut and stick on someself-adhesive felt shapes to create grass, water and sand areas. Add an assortment of rocks, gems, pom poms and blocks to keep your team busy! I've also added some Duplo items which compliment the set up. Jumbo tweezers and scoops will help to develop children'sfine motor skills.
Under the Sea
Under the Sea
An under-the-sea scene doesn't need to be expensive. Use blue fabric to create the sea. You can add some yellow self-adhesive fabric to create an island. Rocks, pebbles and shells will make the scene even more authentic! Cheap and cheerful bath or soft toys can be used if you don't have a set ofplastic under the sea figures. You may want to add some pirate- themed toys to this set up if you have some!
Space
Space World
Space is another popular small world set up. Use a large piece of black fabric to create your miniature planet and then add some loose parts. Items such as pine cones, gems, conkers, star sequins and balled up pieces of tin foil will be great additions! Decorate a cardboard tube to create a telescope. If you don't have a spaceship, your child will enjoy creating one using junk materials.
Bear Hunt
The Bear Hunt
The Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen is a great story to turn into a small world. To make the long wavy grass, fold two thirds of a strip of green paper back and snip it. Stick the third which hasn't been snipped, onto green card. A stream can be made using a piece of card covered in blue tissue paper. Brown parcel packaging makes your squelchy mud. To create trees, cut tree shapes from card, fold the bases under and stick them to a rectangular piece of card. Snow is simply cotton wool balls and a cave can be made by bending a piece of brown card. The character puppets shown in the picture were fromtwinkl. A free set can be found atEarly Learning HQ.
Two of my favorite things? Kids books and play dough kits… So a book-inspired play dough kit?? Oh my gosh… A match made in heaven!! We made this Little Blue Truck play dough kit last year when all of the Little Blue Truck books were on heavy rotation in our house and it was such a hit.
For the purpose of the kit, we decided to use the original Little Blue Truck as our inspiration, but they’re all so good {well, with the exception of the spring one – it’s not my favorite if I’m being honest}. They’re just such fun books to read aloud… They have great rhythm and rhyme and they have really sweet messages behind them too – win! I’d highly recommend all of these:
While I wasn’t sure what colors of play dough we’d do for this kit, a few flips through the pages of the book and it was settled. We’d go with rich, fall colors just like the ones in the illustrations.
Here’s a look… We did a deep, brick red, a charcoal gray, a mustardy yellow, a coppery brown, and a mossy green. Of course you could switch these up and do any colors you and your little one like though!
To make the play dough, I actually did 5 separate batches of dough (one for each color) and then split each batch in half to make two kits – one for us to keep and one for us to gift. Depending on how full I want our kit to be, I usually do two or three batches of play dough, so 5 batches split in half gave us the perfect amount. You can find our go-to play dough recipe, as well as our tips and tricks to making the perfect play dough, here. For this particular kit, we skipped the scent and used our favorite Wilton gel colors.
In an air-tight bag, this play dough will last for months and months, whereas if you just leave them loose in the kit, you’ll notice them drying out and becoming sort of crystal-y fairly quickly.}
Next, we gathered up our animals and vehicles… We already had all of the animals in the story in our collection of Schleich and PAPO figurines, so that’s what we went with. You can find them here:
If you’re giving this as a gift and you’d like it to be more affordable, I would recommend going with Safari Ltd. or Wild Republic figurines… Or even the ‘no name’ ones available in big toy stores and dollar stores. You should be able to find all of the story characters and more, at a fraction of the cost.
We also happened to have a perfect little CAT dump truck on hand too (we found ours at Winners, but you can also find it here), so the only thing we purchased was a little blue truck from our local teacher store (but this one or this one would be amazing!)
Weird, but one of my favorite things about putting together play dough kits is figuring out how to best fit everything into the GLIS box… We went with all of our little animal friends in the big spot on the left and the trucks in the middle spot in the front.
To finish off the kit, we added some natural wooden matchsticks {to be used as long grass, fence posts, or anything else the kiddos dream up} and a handful of autumnal trees from our Safari Ltd. Tree Toob.
Here’s the finished kit… Wouldn’t this make a lovely gift for a special little someone? P.S. You can use any type container. Shoebox size or plastic pencil boxes seem to work well too.
My favorite part about play dough kits is that you set them out and the kids have everything the need to start playing / creating…
And open-ended play invitations like this tend to appeal to a wide range of ages, which I love.
One thing I tend to get asked about play dough kits is, “How are they supposed to play with it?” and my answer is always that there is no right way to play – so long as they’re following the basic expectations you’ve set out for play dough play of course. I find that kids don’t really need instructions when it comes to enjoying the combination of play dough, loose parts, and figures… They have plenty of imagination and the best thing oftentimes is for us to stand back and observe.
They might create scenes that look similar to the ones in the story…
They might use the play dough and parts to retell the story…
Or they might do something completely different – which is 100% okay.
Either way, they’re most likely flexing their imaginations, hand muscles, and fine motor skills, which are all great things.
Train Tracks Small World in a Cardboard Box
Turn a cardboard box into a giant small world play scene, with drawn on train tracks and play elements made from everyday recycled materials. This is the perfect rainy afternoon fun set up and encourages creativity and imaginative play.
I am not an artist- But really good a visual-spatial useage- So I would often use sticky notes and push pins for marking the set and the boys and Hope could draw the details.
We all know that no child can resist the joyful allure of the humble cardboard box! There are many posts on this site dedicated to ways to play with boxes, including our popular small world town in a box activity which had the girls sitting right in there amongst their play!
Whenever a new box enters our life I get really excited about the possibilities. The girls still adore making play scenes from them, so when we got a new flat box last week it became a train tracks scene with added trains, cars, farm animals and more. I drew a really simple train track going around the box using a marker and left the pot of markers for them to add anything extra to the scene that they wanted.
Then we found a large cardboard tube and cut it in half to become two tunnels for the trains to drive through, which they loved! We also added an old cereal box with some simple windows and a door cut out, to become Central Station for the trains to terminate at.
They chose what else to add, and found blocks for creating houses and buildings, arches from the castle set to make bridges, and people and animals to come and live in their small world Happy Town!
In the middle of the scene we made Old MacDonald’s farm and lots of animals made an appearance, including a stray crocodile in the pond, ready to gobble up the swan! They played here all afternoon and again during the week, with adaptations made using pens and new toys to change the themes. Creativity and fantastic imaginative play that costs nothing!
What they are learning while they play:
creativity: using imaginations to create stories and act out scenarios, drawing and creating scenes in 2D and 3D, combining materials to represent other objects
literacy: storytelling, remaining in character and role during play, vocabulary from real life e.g. train, tracks, station, journey, tickets etc
If you are stuck trying to think of a book or theme to start with I have you covered with this huge list of ideas and inspiration below that I have collected for you from around the web. Make sure to click on the links under each photo collage to learn more about how each bag, basket or prop box was put together and how the children played with them. I’ve even separated them into book titles and themes for you to make it even easier to find that favourite!
Dear Zoo Theme
Inspiration Sources:
Adventures and Play created their own Dear Zoo animal enclosures to help them explore the story.
Very Messy Mummy shared these special Dear Zoo packages with her 12 month old – imagine the fun unwrapping to see what is inside!
Stimulating Learning with Rachelcreated this simple story basket. Make sure to click through and take a look at the rest of her basket photos for even more fantastic inspiration!
Natural Beach Living put together this toddler friendly Dear Zoo box for hours of play.
It’s All About Stories set up a ‘Communication Friendly Space’ and then made props with the children so they could take home and retell the story to family.
I loved the use of different coloured and sized boxes in this collection of story props found on Pinterest.
Going on a Bear Hunt
Inspiration Sources:
Little Worlds, Big Adventures used their Playmobil family and interesting sensory elements to explore this classic story in a hands on way!
Over on Childhood 101 Lauren showed us how to make a going on a bear hunt story sensory tub.
Lauren also shared her DIY Bear Hunt sensory bottles (as well as lots of other activities to bring the story alive) on Teacher Types
Stimulating Learning with Rachelcreated this inviting Bear Hunt small world for the children to explore using natural materials and simple props.
Reading Confetti used these household objects to provide the children with opportunities to create sound effects for the story. Use this idea to create your own ‘sound effects’ team as you read.
Adventures and Play turned their wooden blocks into clever and interactive storytelling props. Children will find so may ways to use these!
Make sure to pop over and visit Sun Hats & Wellie Boots to see how they took the storytelling outside using nature and lots of wonderful outdoor dramatic play. Loved these ideas and the houses they built!
Storytelling Props added to tuff spot trays create literacy and language small worlds easily modified for both younger and older children.
A Few Shortcuts shares some ideas for putting together preschool story baskets – make sure to visit the other baskets in the collection for more ideas!
Small Potatoes shows us how the children worked hard to help create the props for one of my all time favourite stories – The Little Mouse, The red ripe strawberry and the big hungry bear! I have been reading that book to different generations of children for years and love how you can create a sense of anticipation and the children feel they are part of the story too.
Miss Polly is always a lot of fun to act out and most children already know the rhyming song so why not add some simple materials to extend to storytelling play like Adventures and Play did here.
The Thoughtful Spot Day Careused a flip lid bin to help tell the story of ‘the old woman who swallowed a fly’– can’t you just imagine the fun with this one!! A clever and creative resource idea.
Another story often read over and over is the classic ‘Are you my mother?‘ Inspiration Laboratoriesreminds us that even babies and toddlers love story props and being given the opportunity to recreate a favourite in their own way!
Jack & the Beanstalk
Inspiration Sources:
A simple hands on storytelling tray that invites children to direct their own story, play and roles. Sourced via Pinterest.
So many opportunities for children or educators to set up and tell the story using some or all of the creative props in this story basket compiled by Sun Hats and Wellie Boots!
Such a creative invitation to play, build and re-tell the story of Jack and the Beanstalk story using Lego. Sourced via Pinterest.
Wombat Stew
Inspiration Sources:
Children will enjoy exploring and using the props and materials in this dramatic play invitation to help tell this classic story. Lots of sensory and loose parts fun here! Sourced via Pinterest
@Ronniecraft over on Instagram shared her small world tray set up ready to tell the story of Wombat Stew. Love the colours and old teapot!
Kate from Laughing Kids Learn provided the opportunity for her children to learn more about Australian animals and plants while getting messy and creative as they made their own wombat stew.
Owl Babies
Inspiration Sources:
Rachel from Stimulating Learning put together this story basket filled with materials of different textures and sizes. Story stones, soft animals and leaves all play a role.
Another of my long time favourite stories to tell for a range of age groups!
Learning 4 Kids provided a story sensory tuband materials to help the children set up a special tiger tea party! Lots of interesting investigation occurred with the addition of real teabags and little cups of tea to pour.
It’s All About Stories set up a ‘story cafe’around this book. Tiger snacks, craft activities and story props like real china cups added to the fun of story re-telling, imaginative and open ended play!
Who could resist this sweet tea party invitation with a tiger in the garden? Sourced via Pinterest
I’m rather in awe of the story basket tree over at Sun Hats & Wellie Boots – beautiful idea we can all try outdoors!
Author Julia Donaldson Favourites
I decided one of my favourite authors for young children deserved a category of her own – I hope you find a few ideas to try with some of these well known stories!
Inspiration Sources:
See how Treading on Lego uses those Lego pieces creatively to help set up and tell the story of A squash and a Squeeze!
Who doesn’t love the gruffalo? Why not try telling the story using these shadow stick puppets and DIY box featured over at Ecole Petite Section.
Smiling like Sunshine used a few everyday soft toys and props to set up a role play area to help her son act out and re-tell his favourite story ‘Monkey Puzzle’.
Oceans & Water
Inspiration Sources:
The Snail & the Whale is another Julia Donaldson story book but I wanted to include this example in my ocean category because I just love how all the little elements come together to help tell this lovely story. Beautiful resources for a story bag. Shared on Instagram by Heather @A Reusable Life.
The OT Toolboxexplored the book ‘Make way for Ducklings’ using some hands on props set up as a story sensory table. Lots to engage the senses and vocabulary here!
Loving this small sensory tray put together by Little Fishto help spark imagination and storytelling. Another interesting way to introduce the book Snail and the Whale.
