So many children love small world play. This is where you have small houses or airports or shops or fairies which allow children to act out real life and fantasy situations. It is a really important part of play because it allows them to be in charge. As well as imagination it develops language and storytelling skills. And don’t forget it’s fun! To make it even more enjoyable I made the girls and my class their own mini-me from a wooden block. This means they are front and centre in their story.
The wooden block mini-me is so easy to make. You just need laminated pictures of the children and stick them on a wooden block with Sellotape. If you don’t have a laminator you could use contact paper. I made a whole class set and they were so thrilled to see little mini versions of themselves. A few of the children were homesick at the start of the year so we went and took photos of their siblings and cousins and it was a big comfort for them. We also made a mini-me of each of the main members of staff. Mainly for my own entertainment!
Dinosaur small world with mini-me blocks
There are so many different uses for the mini-me figures. All you have to do is add them to any small world or imaginative play set up. The children will make their own games. They can be in the hospital or on a pirate ship. We loved putting them in the dinosaur small world. The children thought it was hilarious when I was chased by a T-Rex.
Christmas small world
Real life setups work so well. The children enjoyed acting out their visits to Santa and it inspired lots of writing as they made little cards and gift tags for presents.
Autumn farmyard small world
It is also a good way to help children who may be anxious about new situations. If you have a school trip planned you could set up a small world for that trip, such as visiting the farm, and them act it out with the children. This would give them chance to discuss their fears.
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We also made a smaller version of the mini-mes and stuck them onto LEGO bricks. See what we did here:
