I recently wrote an article for Flora who have a great section on their website to help stimulate imaginations and provide new ideas of things to get up to at the weekends. We have easy access to the countryside from where we live and a local farm we love to visit. Why don’t you pop on over to read about our recent day out at the farm.
It’s lovely to spark new interests in children and continue the learning at home. Yesterday the children spent the afternoon having fun with a special animal-themed small world play, which I thought I would share with you.
Materials needed to make farmyard small world play:
tuff spot
Playmobil farm animals and equipment
sand, small stones and oats or any other sensory material
How to set up farmyard small world play:
A tuff spot is perfect for some small world play. It’s just the right size for my children as there’s room for them to play together but it’s also large enough that they can have their own area. We’ve used it quite a lot lately and yesterday they set up their own farm following on from a recent visit.
To provide a full sensory experience we used a variety of different materials. We collected a bucket of sand, a bucket of stones and a bucket of oats and spread them over the base of the tuff spot, keeping them in three distinct areas.
Then the children collected as many farm related toys they could find in their Playmobil box. They found a great variety including animals, fences, wheelbarrows, bales of hay, a tractor and people.
I let the children decide how they wanted to set up their farm but it was great hearing them talk about it. We discussed previous visits to our local farm, the animals we saw, where they lived and what they ate.
Needless to say our small world play didn’t stay tidy for long. The tractor was quick to move materials around although the high edge of the tuff spot kept most of the sand inside it. The children had great fun and it was lovely to see them bringing some of the things we had learned at the farm into our home.
Don’t forget to go and read my article over on Flora’s site. I would love to hear about your favourite days out with your children. Do you enjoy a day at the farm as much as we do?
This article has been sponsored by Flora
I worked (on mat leave at the mo) as a nursery assistant and small world play was always one of my favourite activities to do with the children. I absolutely love your farm play idea. I definitely need to get tuff spot for when my daughter is older. Fab post.
Jenna at Tinyfootsteps xx
What a great idea, I know my nephew would absolutely love this x
Great post. Anything that encourages them to use their imagination (rather than anything electronic) is welcome in this house!
I love this idea, always looking for new things to do with my toddler so I will give this a go. Maybe one for when the weather is nicer so we can try it outside and I don’t have to clear up all mess afterwards!
Of all my toys my nephew has, the farm is his favourite, complete with animal noises constantly x
Lovely idea for sensory pretend play. It’s great to continue a theme like visiting a farm and bringing it back for play and further learning and fun.
Thanks for sharing #LetKidsBeKids
that looks fabulous, which child could resist playing with such a fun set up? i love sensory play for younger kids and this looks just brilliant. #LetKidsBeKids
Such a great ideas! My kids would love this! Thank you for joining in with us! #pintorials
We actually went to our local city farm yesterday! The children always love to see the animals. This small world play set up looks fab and I love how you put it on the tuff spot, it looks just perfect for a play container. I definitely need to get one of these!
#letkidsbekids
Snap! This is exactly what we have been playing with this week. Yours looks fab #ToddlerApprovedTuesday