Pretend Play with Artificial Flowers – Toddler Activity
Pretend play with artificial flowers – a fun, springtime water play activity for toddlers and preschoolers in your backyard play space.
Recently, the hooligans enjoyed a morning of pretend play with artificial flowers, and the activity was completely child led. On Friday, the older hooligans ran out into our play yard, while I remained inside getting the little ones organized and ready to go out.
You may also like our dramatic play flower shop activity.
We were just inside the sliding glass doors, and as I was getting splash pants and rubber boots on the littles, I could see that one of the 3’s had a toy watering can, and he was scooping water from our pond, carrying it over to the garden, and pouring it on the tiny green shoots that are starting to peek out of the soil.
When we stepped outside, he ran to the sandbox, and grabbed a bunch of artificial flowers. (Don’t you love where this is going?)
Hang on, I have to tell you about our artificial flowers.
Artificial flowers for play:
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Our artificial flowers are one of the most popular “loose parts” in our play space.
I picked up several bunches of them at a second-hand store a few years ago, and they’re used in some way every day.
From pretend weddings to decorating the playhouse and flower shops in the sandbox, our flowers are spark ideas for imaginative play every day.
You couldn’t ask for a less expensive “toy”. Pick some up the next time you’re in a thrift shop or the dollar store and see what your children do with them at your house.
Back to our activity.
My little guy ran back up to the garden with his flowers, and I watched as he bent down, and twisted the bunch of flowers into the earth. Then he ran back to the pond and resumed his watering duties.
And that is how our morning activity was born.
Because I didn’t want the littles dipping watering cans into the pond (there’s just too much potential there for someone to end up going for a swim) I suggested that we get more of our artificial flowers and move them into some barren flowerpots.
I filled (and refilled and refilled…) a large bowl and a bucket with water, and the hooligans spent the better part of the morning tending to their flowers.
What a great spring time activity! Easy, inexpensive and fun! Just the way we like it!
If you’re curious about the headgear our little gardener is wearing in the above photo, click here to see how to make our Easy Bug Headbands.
You may also like:
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Outdoor Sensory Play – Exploring Fresh Herbs
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Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.
