With Easter just a few weeks away and little teases of Spring peaking out here in Montana, I knew I wanted this week’s #mtnwildstorytime to be Spring themed! The Tale of Peter Rabbit was an easy choice because I personally just LOVE this book. This classic story and the beautiful familiar illustrations bring a sense of comfort to me right now during this crazy uncertain time. I created a Peter Rabbit small world sensory play basket to go along with the book!
I hope this gives you ideas and inspiration to create your own. Everything I used I already had. I originally had a very different vision for this small world, but since I didn’t want to head to the craft store, I decided to just use what I had, and I am happy with how it turned out! (Check out the bottom of this post with more ideas and links to the items I was thinking of buying for this!)
I used a wide shallow basket for the bin and filled it with brown crinkle paper. I always keep this stuff when I get it in gifts or packages in the mail. It’s great to use for crafts and to reuse for gift baskets! I found some green shredded paper from last year’s Easter basket and added some of that.
I always keep craft moss on hand because we use it a lot for different projects so I added some of that in for a more “real life” texture.
A floral foam block was covered in the green shredded paper and I stuck in some faux flowers.
The felt veggies are from IKEA and the four small carrots popping out are from the Dollar Tree. I was using them as Easter decor in my house but it worked out perfectly for this!
A small terracotta pot base was filled with clear gems/beads. Blue would be better but this was all I could find.
I had two little bunnies and a little green metal chair that was from an old fairy garden we made a few summer’s back.
Sprinkle in some rocks, add in any small toy insects you might have…
I filled a tiny terracotta pot with the green stems of carrots that I had in the fridge. Parsley or any other fresh herb would be cute!
The vegetable markers were so easy to make. I’m sure you could make these a million ways, but I just used my 1″ hole punch to cut out three circles from white card stock. I used markers to draw a little tomato, corn, and carrot. I used a hot glue gun to stick them to a piece of bamboo skewer. These are another thing I always try to have in my cupboard. I use them for kebabs, to roast marshmallows indoors, and for lots of crafts. I just used heavy duty scissors to cut up the skewer into smaller pieces.
The Mr. McGregor sign was made the same way, just markers and white card stock glued to a bamboo skewer.
I found an image of Peter Rabbit online and printed it on cardstock and cut it out.
My favorite part is definitely the little blue jacket used as a scarecrow, just like in the book! I followed a template found here.
We munched on carrots and drank chamomile tea, just like in the book, and my son’s imagination ran wild. He rearranged the flowers and replanted the veggies. Then sprinkled some corn kernels in the shredded paper and filled his basket with the vegetables. He had the brilliant idea to grab the peg dolls I made and use them as Mr. and Mrs. McGregor! He used his barn nightlight as the garden shed and put his wood cat toy by the pond and a wood mouse by the shed. (Both these adorable wooden animals are from Toys By Anthony ) He is way more creative than I will ever be and I was just so happy to see him giggling away!
Michael’s is doing free curbside pickup, so if you need to stock up on some craft supplies for your kiddos anyways, you might want to check out some of these adorable miniatures they have ! I have been obsessed with miniatures since I was a kid and I remember going to the local antique stores in my hometown shopping around for cute little treasures. I am so glad I am a mother now so I can keep playing with these little toys! haha
You can click each image below for the link. (These are not affiliate links)
Other ideas for a peter rabbit small world sensory play:
- Use dry black beans, pinto beans, or brown rice as the dirt
- Add in real blooms and greens
- Add seed packets to the display
- If you have a small metal watering can, you can hide the little bunny in it! We had a little metal pail that we used instead
- If you don’t have blue felt, you could make the jacket out of paper instead
- If you have one of those little zen gardens, the tiny rake would be perfect for this
- If you have the space and the weather is nice, you could take this outside! Use real soil and little garden shovels and rakes for your kiddo to dig in.
Make sure you are following me on Instagram to see a new children’s picture book with coordinating activity posted every Sunday! Follow the hashtag #mtnwildstorytime for ideas!
Sharing is caring
______________________________________________________________________________
Leave a Reply