One way to immerse a child in exploring an interest is to create an interesting play scene as an invitation to play, perfect for playful learning.
I have posted before about how and why invitations to play work and you can read more in these posts;
- What Happens When You Follow A Child’s Interest?
- Emergent Curriculum: Following Children’s Interests
- Our Little World: Continued Adventures
- Strewing
- An Invitation to Play
- An Invitation to Play: More Adventures with Goldilocks
- An Outdoor Play Invitation
Some of the elements I consider for use when creating a play scene include;
Natural elements
- Stones
- Shells
- Interesting seedpods
- Gumnuts
- Leaves
- Branches
- Sticks
- Bark
- Driftwood
- Wooden cookies or tree blocks
- Herbs or other small plants
- Grass, sprouts or plant birdseed
- Sand
- Clay
A Water Feature
- A small, tabletop fountain
- A tray of water
A Hint of Sparkle
- Alfoil or sparkly giftwrap or scrapbooking paper
- Foil trays (also great for holding water)
- CDs
- Coloured fairy stones
- Cellophane
- Sequinned fabric
Other
- Pieces of colourful fabric or silky scarves
- Wooden blocks
- Fake turf
- Popsticks and matchsticks
- Small found materials like lids, buttons, small cardboard tubes, small boxes
- Plus, figurines or other toys or tools which support their interest.
Do you create play scenes for your child? What would you add to my list of playful elements?
Read the comments or scroll down to add your own: