This farm themed sensory small world provides a wonderful opportunity for open-ended imaginative play, and is perfect to fit with our home preschool On the Farm theme.

Tray set-up

Tray

Farm animals and food troughs (£11 farm play set from Sainsburys)

Popping corn

Easter chicks

Lego barn

Kitchen roll tube pig sty

Scoops

I usually set up sensory trays in advance for Rosalie, but because this was more of a small world, we did it together. I added the corn and then we talked about what else she might like to include. We built a (crude) barn from Lego, and she chose a few farm animals plus the chicks from her Spring tray. I suggested her Mega Blok tractor and farmer but she didn’t want to include them. I added scoops.

Ways to play

A themed sensory small world provides opportunities for open-ended imaginative play and role play. Rosalie particularly enjoyed moving the animals in and out of the barn/sty and filling up their feeding troughs.

She got out her Tractor Ted, filling the trailer with corn to feed the animals with.

After a while most of the animals ended up out of the tray and on the table; she found that just running her fingers through the corn was good fun, before discovering the even more delightful noise the corn made if your dropped it from a height, and onto different surfaces.

I like these little set-ups because I can leave them out for the whole month, and she will come back to them, trying different things and playing in different ways.

If you like the sound of this activity, why not pin it to try with your preschooler?

 

Rosalie – 40 months

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