Small World Play

Over a year ago I first made Munchkin a 5 little speckled frogs small world play set up.

I thought I blogged about it, but of course I can't find it!

It was just before we moved, hence why I know it was over a year ago.  It was the only imaginary play thing I could think of doing that didn't involve diggers and trucks, or needing to buy anything.  I got the idea from The Imagination Tree (see the original here). 

He absolutely loved it.

And spent hours playing with it, both with the frogs, and his own variations.

And over a year later, he still asks me to make "five speckled frogs" for him.

I don't quite know what the allure is, but something about it must appeal for him to remember.  We don't have it out often, but every few months the request comes and he spends time playing with his frogs in the little imaginary world we create.  This last time we ended up with a shell in there, from a wedding I attended years ago.  I love how things end up being reused in the strangest ways at times.  This was just recently...

Tomorrow morning he's going to wake up to something new...

I've been hoping to do some other little imaginary play things for him, especially now we have some other plastic animals, but somehow it never seems to end up on my to do list.  So after a weekend of having my dining table commandeered by a wooden ramp (taped to the table) and a car garage (perched precariously on top of the piano stool which was wedged on the other side of the table), together with a makeshift camping tent for several cars (made of some cardboard and containers on the dining table), and two duplo dragons and their friends the duplo robots, I had had enough.  I made him pack it all up.  But I softened the blow by promising to create him something new to play with.  It will be interesting to see what he does with it, considering past variations to the original theme (grin).

A mix of jungle on one side, and snow (with arctic pond and a ah, artic frog??) on the other.  We went to the snow recently which was a big hit.  Don't have any snow animals like polar bears or anything but goats and reindeer is close enough, right?  After all, it's all about using your imagination!


Amy