As I was restructuring the play area in our home this week, I suddenly had a real "aha!" moment. I realised, truly realised, that less is more. I'm not talking about the amount of toys or accumulation of craft supplies (though that area could use a clean out!) but about invitations to play and ...
Invitation to Create a Play Dough Fairy World
Is there a fairy fan in your family? Then you are going to love this play dough fairy world activity that had my 5 year old daughter buzzing all week. Fairy activities, crafts and small worlds come in all the popular shapes and sizes. I'm sure you've seen and done many before. There is a trick ...
Safari Small World Play
This week we've been enjoying the beautiful summer sunshine here in New Zealand (while it lasts!) and spent lots of time playing in the sandpit. To change things up a bit I decided to set up this little invitation to make a safari small world. There's something magical about small world play that ...
How to Set up a Beach Small World Invitation to Play
A day at the beach is day of good old fashioned family fun for most people. Adults and children alike! Through small world play children get the opportunity to relive those moments and play out their own fantasy adventures. Small worlds can be quick and easy to set up. In this post I'll show ...
How to Make a Cute and Creative Seashell Mobile
Are you a seashell collector like me? Do you or your children spend more time looking for seashells on the beach than splashing in the waves? I am notorious for keeping my family waiting for 5 more minutes so I can do some therapeutic beach combing. What to do with all these seashells? Well ...
Small World Sensory Play “We’re going on a Bear Hunt”
We've been going on bear hunts for at least two years. You could say we're bear hunt experts. We've hunted for big bears and small bears. We've hunted with our friends and we've hunted by ourselves. We've hunted indoors and we've hunted outdoors. In fact, I think we're pretty close to being ...
Imaginative Play: Dinosaur Small World
The other day both my children were out of the house and I decided to set up a dinosaur small world for them to explore when they'd come home. I really like setting up small worlds. Small world play is great for so many reasons. It nurtures the imagination, encourages creativity and provides ...
7 Creative Ways to Play with Loose Parts
In my previous two blog posts I've been talking about the theory of loose parts and have been sharing ideas on ways to play with loose parts at home. You'd think I would have covered most of what there is to say about loose parts in two extensive posts, right? No. There is more. There are ...
Playing with Loose Parts at Home: an oversight
The Theory of Loose Parts has been exciting play experts, educators and parents ever since it was developed and published by architect Simon Nicholson in 1972. The concept of playing with loose parts however has been around since children have been playing with whatever they could find in ...
A Beginner’s Guide to Small World Play
I can not wait to share my small world play enthusiasm with you all. Today I'll talk you through the basics: what exactly is small world play, why we want to provide these experiences for our children and how we can make it happen in our own home. I hope that when you've finished reading this you'll ...