Once your kids have fueled up for the day with cereal, use the empty cereal box to fuel their imaginations. Turn it into a Small Farm World with just a few bits and bobs you probably already have to hand.
Every weekend we leave breakfast out for the kids, so that we can sneak a little lie in. This does mean that we always come down to a kitchen table (and floor!) covered in crumbs and we go through mountains of cereal, as one bowl is never enough for any of them. But it’s still worth it. If your kids haven’t quite reached this age yet, hang in there as your time will come.
Lots of these empty cereal boxes make their way into our “Making Box”. Where they will eventually be turned into Robots or Treasure Boxes. And we have recently found another really cool use for them as well, a base for a Small World Play.
Cereal Box Small World Farm
When you create a Small World for your child to play with, you are providing them with the props to escape into a world fueled by their own imagination. Watch on as they craft characters and create stories about the items set out in their small world. You can even get involved as well, to help them continue their stories on to the next chapter.
For a more detailed look at what at what Small World Play and the many benefits it offers your child, then you have to check out my friend Ann’s blog Little Worlds Big Adventures (she’s a bit of an expert on the subject.)
Supplies
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To create our Small World Farm we used:
- An Empty Cereal Box
- Felt Scraps
- Bubble Wrap
- Wool
- Egg Carton
- Selection of Farm Animals
- Feathers
- Pipe Cleaners
Setting up our Small World Farm
To turn our cereal box into a Small World Farm, we started out by cutting the front off the box and taping the sides together.
We then filled the bottom of the box with felt scraps to give our farm green pastures, muddy fields and a duck pond.
Once the base was set it was time to add in a few interesting textures to help further engage my kids in this activity.
- Tickly feathers for the rooster to sit on.
- Bubble Wrap over the pond to give the effect of water.
- Soft Pipe-cleaners twisted together to make a gate.
- Snips of green yarn for the sheep to munch on.
- An egg carton filled with bird seeds to feed the animals.
- A few Lego flowers to add some more color by the pond.
Then last but not least it was time to add the Farm Animals.
Playing with our Farm Small World
Bella was the first to play with our Farm Small World, as she gets home from school before her big brothers. She already has a brilliant imagination and it’s a joy to sit and listen to her as she plays and loses herself in a world of imaginative play. She even managed to get me involved as well. Play together with a Small World, is a really lovely way to spend some quality time together.
The boys had a great time with it as well when they eventually got home from school. Small Worlds can be enjoyed by kids of all ages and are great to set up for siblings to play with together as well.