This invitation to build a mini habitat was a huge hit for both my 2 year old and 6 year old. Loose parts, sensory bases and a whole host of creatures sure did make for some awesome imaginative play.
This post contains affiliate links. Thank you Best Ideas for Kids for gifting us a copy of their latest craft book - Fun and Easy Crafting with Recycled Materials. We were kindly gifted some of the Safari Ltd. Designer Toob creatures used in this blog. Safari Ltd. products are automatically linked with a 20% discount code. We were also gifted the Play Dirt, Floof and Foam Alive sensory materials from Play Visions.
I was so excited to receive a copy of Kimberly McLeod's brand new craft book, all based on using recyclables. I sat down with my kids and flicked through the pages and they both let out of squeal of excitement when we got to the Dinosaur Terrarium activity. It was decided! We were going to make our own little terrariums. My kids always thrive when there is an element of choice in an activity so I decided to set up trays, one with loose part habitat materials like rocks, trees and glass pebbles. The other had a selection of Safari Ltd. Toob animals, insects and sea creatures to choose from.
I also put out three different sensory bases to match the selection of creatures. We had Floof as snow or icy water, Play Dirt as sand / dirt, and the green Foam Alive as grass.
I showed the kids an example of a terrarium by using the picture in the book (this is a real positive of the book- the pictures are so clear and colorful). We then all made one mini habitat together, with us collaborating to choose the creature, the sensory base and a few habitat accessories. I used small plastic containers which have been knocking round for months, they were perfect!
The kids couldn't wait to make their own! They carefully added some of their chosen sensory base having selected their animal of choice. There was so much discussion about the typical habitat of their animals.
This was a great activity for encouraging sensory confidence. My son doesn't particularly like being hands on with messy materials but he grew to like them because he was so engrossed with the task. My toddler on the other hand couldn't get enough of the sensory play!
Once the sensory base and animal were in the container, it was time to add some habitat accessories. They chose appropriate textures and colors for their habitats.
Adding these loose parts was a great way to work on their fine motor skills.
Once the habitats were done, they screwed on the lids and enjoyed looking after their new 'pets'.
It's always a good sign when they ask to do another one of the activity! This time round they were a little more generous with what they gave their animals to play with in their habitats.
This really was an awesome set up to encourage sensory exploration, creativity and it opened up so many great conversations about habitats.
One of my favorite moments was when baby sis put a fish in a container full of dirt and rocks. I said without thinking 'fish don't live in dirt'. To my absolute delight big bro jumped in and said 'but Mummy that's imagination!'. I felt so proud that he naturally reacted like that!
Thank you again to Kimberly for sending us a copy of her latest book, Fun and Easy Crafting with Recycled Materials. It is full of such inspiring activities to enjoy with kids of all ages. I've already got a list of ones to try and I haven't even got past the first chapter! Also be sure to follow Kimberly's Instagram account @bestideasforkids for more inspiration.
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