Children have a natural desire to make sense of their world, to create order. Play is the greatest way for a child to process the world around them.
Small world play is simply when you set an invitation to explore where children use items to engage in scenes from their own experiences, environments, books, pictures, fairytales, or to expose them to new ones. Small worlds are perfect for exposure to different habitats and an easy way to incorporate loose parts + sensory play materials to enrich the experience and make it more realistic.
To create this Forest Small World Play in a sensory bin I placed tree blocks, neutral tree blocks, forest animals, acorns, leaves, moss, rocks, flat marbles, pine cones, moss balls and fake grass.
These types of invitations are an ideal platform for nurturing children's imagination. Play in this form provides them with an opportunity to explore new materials, act out scenarios from real life, build language, practice social skills, and gain an understanding of the world.
Safety Notes: Anytime a child, no matter the age, is provided with or near any choking hazard supervision is of the utmost priority. Anytime boundaries need to be established to ensure safety before inviting a child to play is a great opportunity to guide a child to interact with objects and materials in a safe manner. Therefore having discussions or modeling before they engage in loose parts play is ideal. If it is not within your threshold of comfort to provide your child or children in your care with loose parts that is completely understandable.