Child-made Construction Small World Backdrop

 

A few weeks before Dimples had his 5th Birthday Party, a construction themed party, I had an idea to make a back drop type play station for the party so the kids could play with all sorts of construction themed toys in a small world diorama.  Some kids are sensory challenged and don tlike dirt, mud and getting their hands all gross so this was an easy outdoor option on a smaller scale.

 

We started with an open cardboard box and some paint, it developed from there with some roads and cotton wool dirt piles and a rubbish pile glue in one corner. On the day of his party I put some cocoa pops and rice bubbles out for the kids to "dig into".  I had seen the idea of using rice bubbles a couple years ago on Paint on the ceiling and always kept it in the back of my head hoping that one year Dimples would want a digging themed party.

This was it and it worked a treat.

 

 

During the weeks before, Dimples practised his scissor skills cutting out some buildings or 'skyscrapers' to stick on the back drop, he helped paint, glue and decorate the back drop. So the cardboard box which was just opened up on an angle and then stapled together so that it kept steady yet open enough for play slowly turned into a mini world full of construction.  It was turning into a cool looking pretend play zone and Dimples had a blast making it come to life bit by bit leading up to his party.

 

 

Dimples loves craft, it was his idea to glue in some cotton wool balls and paint them brown to resemble a pile of rocks, and then in another corner he glued in "rubbish" which was ripped pieces of paper.  I added some drawings, like a demolition ball on a crane and the windows in the buildings.  It was looking more like a 3D small world by now. We added some road work signs and little traffic toys that he had along with a collection of construction vehicles and there he had his own construction area for pretend play.  Dimples loves imaginative pretend play and small world areas, they give play time a realistic element.  

 

It was a small construction zone for a couple of weeks before and he continues to love it for weeks after his birthday party, it proved to be a realistic little 3D small world on the day of his party and looked realistic with piles of pretend rubble. The coco pops and rice bubbles were a great sensory add on to the 3D world, they bought it to life and worked well getting dumped around and bulldozed over. The fit inside dump trucks and were able to get pushed around and cleared.  The boys were happy to taste some and it is a safe alternative for younger kids as well.

 

I imagined that on the day they would get spread out everywhere but it was a risk worth taking, the boys were quite happy to play with them at the 3D small world construction station and used them in their imaginative play the way they were intended. They were able to spread them out all over the table and a majority of them did exactly that, carting, hauling, dumping and loading trucks tractors and construction vehicles all over the scene. It was definitely a fun alternative to digging in the dirt.

 

 

What other alternatives to dirt and mud would your kids love to dig in to?

Small World Play Ideas from around the Web

 

Benefits of Small World Play - Happy Feet Penguins By Adventures at Home with Mum

Using Books to Create Small World Play  By My little Bookcase

Frog Pond Small world Play  By One Perfect Day

A Rainbow Stacker small world By You clever Monkey 

Sand Dough Small world Beach  By Adventures at Home with Mum

Farm Small World Play  By Two Daloo

Free Small World Printable  By Picklebums 

Outdoor Small World Magical Gnome Garden  By Adventures at Home with Mum

Monster Truck Sensory Track with Faux Dirt  By Paging Fun Mums 

Styrofoam Ice Capsules and Penguins in water beads  By Adventures at Home with Mum

 

Happy Adventures 

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Demolition Ball Construction Party Game

While getting some Construction themed Party inspiration off Pinterest for Dimples 5th Birthday Party I came across many Demolition party games, or "wrecking ball" type games where the children construct a tower out of blocks, pretend bricks or wrapped boxes and knock them down. With 8 little boys I knew this would be a hit!

 

 In the weeks prior to the party I held on to any boxes we had and asked family to keep them, then Dimples helped me wrap them up as bricks. We had a large collection from shoe boxes, electrical appliance boxes and cereal-food packaging boxes all wrap in red, orange and yellow ready for the Construction theme 5th Birthday Party for Dimples. 

In the week leading up to it Dimples had his trial of the game and we were happy with how that turned out and just knew that it would be much more fun on the day. The demolition or wrecking ball, was simply a beach ball covered in contact with a pipe cleaner stuck in as a hook to tie some string to.
We were right! Every one had a ball, there were kids laughing and giggling, yelling with excitement at who can knock the all the blocks over.

It was a huge hit, all the boys got a turn, some enjoyed it so much they stayed at it helping one another stack up towers and taking turns with the wrecking ball. There were towers and multiple towers being built and large piles of boxes flying all over the place. It was a good outlet for the sugar boosted energy they all had and for the party excitement they came with on the day and it was an ongoing play area that they all kept returning to.  If you missed it you can see what other construction party games we had here.

Happy Adventures 

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Construction Theme Party Games

Piñata: A construction Themed Piñata stuffed with lollies, Dimples was five so he went first with 5 hits and each child got 5 swings at the piñata.

Dance Freeze: This was the game that Dimples insisted we played, I put some music on and the boys danced away showing us there best dance moves. It was such a happy sight seeing a bunch of kids enjoying them self, they looked so cute wearing construction vests, hats and boots grooving away.
Then Using a Stop Sign, I paused the music & held up the sign, they had to freeze and who ever moved was out, and so the game went until there were 2 left.  They had a few goes and everyone ended up being a winner.

Wrecking Ball Game:  With a beach ball wrapped in contact and hanging above a grassy mat the boys stacked up towers of boxes we had wrapped as bricks and took turns demolishing them.

Pass the Parcel: Most people know this classic Party game. A parcel of news paper with hidden prizes inside each layer. The children pass the parcel until the music stops and if it stops on them they get to open a layer. The prizes were construction themed stickers, balloons, bouncing balls, removable tattoos, notebooks, chocolates and crayons.

Construction Theme Play Station:  In the week leading up to the party Dimples create a diorama kind of backdrop for the play station, it was a construction site with a bowl of construction toy cars, diggers and trucks, then using a bag of coco-pops and rice bubbles it was set up for some pretend play and digging.

Free Play: Of course until all the initial excitement wore off a little the boys explored the garden and found some smurfs, then looked at the Dinosaur hide out , they played in the sand pit together getting to know each other & tinkered around in the Mud Kitchen.  They played together in the tree house and went over the balance stumps and ran around all dressed up in their construction gear.

Jelly Bean Bounce & Pop Game: We blew up a heap of balloons and in some we put jelly beans, then we put them all in the trampoline. The boys enjoyed this game the most, they had to jump and pop the balloons by sitting on them or jumping on them. There were plenty of giggles and they continued until there were no balloons left in the trampoline, a couple of boys asked for more and wanted to do it again.

Digging Work Zone: Of course no Construction Party is complete without digging in the dirt. After a couple of weeks of rain we were lucky to get a sunny day and the have the mud dry out a bit. Dimples had spent the days before digging and burying little skeleton dinosaurs, little treasures and wishing stones for the kids to find. We decorated the area like a real construction site and had a bunch of diggers, dump trucks, excavators and shovels ready. It was a huge hit and the boys kept returning to find more hidden treasures.


Happy 5th Birthday Dimples.

A Coloured Rice Quarry - Pretend Construction

Last week I colored some rice, adding some Peppermint essence so it smelt super Yummy. 

I had no idea what I was going to do with the rice but Dimples hasn't had a Tactile Play tub in a while so I dyed some red, yellow and green. I dyed the rice by getting 3 separate bowls of dry rice, adding a smidgen of water and some color, mix it all around and let it sit for at least half an hour, then spread it evenly out on paper toweling and let it dry for a day. 

Dimples had seen it and asked to use his cars in it, so I set up a mini Construction Quarry. I kept the rice in a tray on top of a spill mat and laid it out separately (knowing that it would get mixed up- but that's part of the fun), collected some dump trucks and construction vehicles, trailors, some plastic trees, traffic cones and traffic lights. It looked very bright and visually appealing but it smelt minty and fresh also.

Dimples transferred colors dumping one lot on top of another color then he used the roller to flatten piles, and the snow scraper to clear a path. He went through and worked out which vehicles made the best tracks and which ones carried a trailer full of rice. It was a pretend quarry and there was lots of clever narration from Dimples being heard as I let him play freely.

He had his go at mowing the green rice and eventually all the colours got mixed together, he made a huge pile that was a hill then rolled it flat. He did try to separate and sort some colours out into dump trucks once they were all mixed up but it proved to be too time consuming.

Dimples did a great job at containing the rice in the tray, even after lots of trucks had to have a go at making burn out tracks and " skids" through the rice, then he parted the rice down the center. All the tipper trucks got loaded up and made a big pile, they were dumping and hauling rice from one end of the tray to the other, Dimples was pretending it was a Dangerous Construction site and had his sign at the site of danger.

Dimples keep mentioning how yummy it smelt, at one stage the little plastic trees were pine trees because it smelt so nice. The pretend construction quarry, clever and cute narration and imaginary play went on for a hour or so. He thoroughly enjoyed it and when I left him to have free play it was nice to listen to his little imaginary world come to life.

Learning Concepts:

Colour identification

Tactile/Sensory Play

Developing imagination

Imitating real life through play

Fine Motor

Colour sorting

Ideas for Extension:

Large Construction Play in Corn

 Pretend Rally Car Tracks in Mud

Car & Construction Ideas:  Playdough tracks, Tire Paint Printing, Dirt digging & more
A pretend play car wash

Making a Mud Brick House

Marvellous Mud, it really is an endless resource with endless ways to play. Mud was used back in the day to make mud bricks to build houses with, there are very few still standing but I think its a neat and easy idea for outdoor play, we might do this again when Dimples is older and make a large scale mud brick building. Now that would be an awesome experience.

I have wanted to make mud bricks with Dimples for a long time but was unsure how to approach it & with the birth of Miss Cherub, I've been a bit behind with planning projects for Dimples. Ever since we made the Marvellous Outdoor Mud kitchen I have been planning to do this with Dimples as a different experience to teach him about the formation of materials and how the elements effect materials, like mud.

He just adores construction activities and has lately been questioning how things work. How was that built? How does that spin? He has been fascinated with the mechanics of things and the structure.  So this was a different outdoor play experience still utilising messy sensory play and the fun of playing with dirt but a great lesson in construction and something he is really interested in at the moment.

First we needed to make our mud brick moulds; I collected the bases of milk bottles for a few weeks as they are square and perfect shape and always the same size.
Next we needed to make our Mud "Cement"; This was an interesting lesson on materials and how certain materials are made. As I said before, Dimples has been asking me how things are made like for instance  what is cement, how are houses built, where do drains go? everything really.  He always comments on bricks and relates it to the big bad wolf. So using this story we discussed how bricks are made to be strong.

Now the learning unfolds!
We had a great talk about how mud bricks are made. Too wet and they are sloppy and wont hold together, too dry and they will crumble apart. How can we make them stronger? Dimples came up with the idea to add sand, as I had told him sand was in cement. Great! Then we mixed together our dirt and water. I went on to tell him how mud bricks need to be held together by grass or hay so that they are nice and strong right through the middle once they are dry.  We added some dry grass and mulched it up so they would hold, a little more sand, a little more grass until it was nice and gluggy.

Further, we talked about how they formed into bricks and the drying process, how they would become strong enough to keep out the big bad wolf and how they kept their shape as bricks through completely drying out and cooked in the sun.



Then, Dimples as cheeky as always decided it was a good idea to splat mud on my leg. I warned him that if he was going to splat mud at me I would have to get him back. With a big Dimpled Grin he splatted me again! I was still heavily pregnant when we made the Mud bricks and didn't really feel like chasing him around but alas he was after a mud fight so that's what he got.  I got a handful and splatted his legs before he could run away, then he came back for more. He thought it was hilarious throwing mud at Mummy and then trying to escape my mud covered hands.

The mud bricks took about 3-4 days to completely  "bake" in a dry Sunny covered spot in the yard.
After I had been home for a couple of days with the new arrival, Dimples little sister Miss Cherub, I thought it would be nice to do something special with Dimples and spend some quality time with him as I always did. I didn't want our relationship to change so I put Miss Cherub in her Sling and headed up the yard.
Dimples cracked them all out - Mud Bricks, they worked well. He was straight into building mode

Mud Brick Huts and Houses.

Dimples made a flight of stairs, he stacked them up, he made a real house with a stick roof.
We collected some bits and pieces from around the yard from nature to make the mud brick houses real natural pieces of art. He loved it, once he had made a building, he unbuilt it and asked to make a different one.

Dimples balanced them on their sides and experimented with different shaped bricks at different angles then he build a cool house and had to cover it over with the box, and leave it there so he could show Adventures Dad, he was very pleased with his creations. Not only did he made the bricks but he made the house, the roof and the path and decorated them.

Happy Adventures 

If you are looking for Mud Play ideas have a look at these:

MUD Painting - Process Art

Mud Rally Sensory Box

8 Benefits to Playing in the Mud

Alternatives to Dirt Digging Construction

We have been doing lots of mud play since we have made the New Mud kitchen.
Dimples has 2 new Dirt trucks, an excavator and a dump truck that he got for Christmas and he has been keen to take them out side into the dirt.
However, as they are brand new and will be coming back inside on the carpet. I am afraid they will get wrecked, stained or unable to get completely clean again, I am sure they will end up out in the dirt soon enough but for now we did this alternative to digging in the mud that was just as fun without the mess.

For what ever the reason, whether its new toys, new clothes or just the mess factor, I understand not everyone is comfortable letting their child run amok in the mud. Sometimes its not appropriate or realistic!
This was a fun tactile alternative that was very clean, hands on and still provided some independent free play in the outdoors.
Hands-on Outdoor Construction Play without the grubby clean up. win win!

I placed some Large flattened cardboard boxes down outside and filled a plastic tray with unpopped pop corn kernels and an old bag of lentils (that would never get used) and Dimples got to use his 2 new toys for digging without the mess and the dirt.
You could use any dry ingredient: Rice, Pasta, Lentils, corn, split peas or out of date cooking ingredients after you sort through your pantry.
Dimples enjoyed digging, scooping and loading the dump truck, dumping it out and driving over the yellow work site.
The corn and lentils made a sprinkling scattering sound as they were dumped on to the cardboard. It was also alot more productive then dirt, Dimples could easily scoop large tubs full and see them pile up as he dumped them out.

It was a great tactile experience outside, he enjoyed fiddling with the corn peices and getting right in there with both hands (this would also work well with the sensory challenged who wont get their hands dirty to begin with) and the best part was after his toys got shaken off, they were still good as new: No mess, no scratches, no broken pieces and no clean up. It was relatively Quick and Easy!
I just picked up the cardboard, poured all the corn & lentils back into a container and saved it to reuse next time.

Happy Adventures

Mud Rally Sensory Box

If you are reading this you must be interested in making a Mud Rally Sensory Box?
This was a fun outdoors activity that I set up for Dimples near his Mud Kitchen.
It has all the Sensory and Tactile benefits of playing outdoors with dirt and mud, as well as these 8 benefits of playing in Mud with one appealing difference; It is contained in a Sensory Box.

 

 

I realise not everyone has a mud kitchen (or wants one) and many parents aren't open to letting their child freely explore mud but they still want to provide the learning experiences and messy fun that mud provides for their child.

The solution? The Mud Rally Sensory Box.

Its all the fun and mess but contained in a box.

This means it can even be bought inside on a spill mat or done on your back patio as a quick and easy messy play activity that can be emptied and cleaned out afterwards.

Simply mix a little dirt and water into the tray, add cars and once the messy play is finished, return the mud to its original place, rinse out the tub and rinse of the cars. Easy Peasy!

 



Dimples gathered some of his diggers and carted them up the yard. I wasn't keen to do the entire messy play thing on this particular day and we had limited time, so I put a shovel load of dirt into a plastic tub and mixed in some water, I sat his cart next to it and let him play.
It wasn't long before he came down from his tree house and came over to start exploring.
Initally he was very delicate, mixing the mud and carefully pushing a car around slowly and then inspecting its wheels. It didnt take long for him to warm up into his usually imaginative self.

Diggers, dump trucks, monster trucks, bull-dozers, tractors, jeeps and 4wd cars were lined up into the mud. The tractors were great at pushing the mud and clearing a path, Dimples experimented a while with this, looking intently at the cleared path. He added a little more water and watched it wash mud back over the paths.
He made some rally tracks and imagined that it was a race circuit, thrashing the monster trucks through the mud (with sound effects of course). Pretending they were doing all sorts of "tricks", flipping, rolling and skidding.
He used his diggers and dump truck for some track construction, even going to the extent of burying a car under dumped out mud.

 

Looking for some more Messy Play ideas?

Mud Kitchen: Recipe for Marvellous Mud Play

8 reasons to play in the mud

fun- green-monster-slime-mess

D is for Digging

Happy Adventures