Building castles for Disney’s ‘Frozen’ characters. We listened to the soundtrack and used used shaving foam as snow.

Resources

  • Tuff tray *
  • Frozen characters
  • Mega blocks *
  • Shaving foam
  • Loose parts* – vase fillers and syringe adaptors

*If you don’t have any of these resources, they can easily be substituted. As an alternative to a tuff tray, you could use a bath/paddling pool/large storage box etc. Similarly, any type of building blocks and loose parts would work.

Method

Step 1: I set up the tuff tray and reminded them not to put any loose parts near their mouths.

Step 2: Free play. Their faces alternated between concentrating and grinning. That is always my sign that we’ve got the right balance between exploration and fun!

Step 3: I purposely hadn’t put any tools out for mark making, to try and steer them away from writing. Without tools, they got creative with their hands instead.

Once they started using their hands, there was no stopping them.

This has been a favourite activity since Ioan was two. He would sort out his resources in to neat piles, then spend a long time concentrating on building a castle and covering it in shaving cream. Once he was happy with it, he would get Marshmallow the snow monster to knock his castle down. I love toddler play ideas that just grow with the child.

Extension

They loved using their hands, and asked to use the window as a big canvas. Here are the results of their window art. If you don’t fancy using a window, then a shower or bath is easy to rinse down afterwards.

DfES Early Learning Goals (2017)

Physical development

ELG 04 – Moving and handling:

Children show good control and co-ordination in large and small movements. They move confidently in a range of ways, safely negotiating space. They handle equipment and tools effectively.

Expressive arts and design

ELG 16 – Exploring and using media and materials:

Children sing songs, make music and dance, and experiment with ways of changing them. They safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.