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Love small world play but not the cost of the resources? Want to see 5 easy and engaging small world set ups? Read on for some low cost, high interest ideas... What is Small World Play? Small world play is literally playing with small versions of things which are found (or imagined!) in the world. For example, it could be a miniature representation of a zoo, a building site, a fairy world or a woodland - the possibilities are endless! Small world play is a wonderful way to develop your child’s imagination, creativity and story telling skills. Here are some examples of how you can create your own small world set ups. You can use toys which you already have or easily create your own with a little imagination. Junk materials, loose parts, fabric and paper/card are all that you will need! If you have books which link to your theme, it's also a great idea to add these. Small World Play Ideas Zoo You can make animals for a zoo, using this helpful page from Hobbycraft. All that you'll need are some toilet rolls, card, paints and glue! If you don't have a zoo set like this one from Argos, you can create your own enclosures from junk materials. Paint boxes to make shelters for your animals and use blocks to create zoo enclosure fencing. Digger World Digger world is sure to be a hit with little ones! Brown parcel paper makes an ideal base. Cut and stick on some self-adhesive felt shapes to create grass, water and sand areas. Add an assortment of rocks, gems, pom poms and blocks to keep your team busy! I've also added some Duplo items which compliment the set up. Jumbo tweezers and scoops will help to develop children's fine motor skills. Under the Sea An under-the-sea scene doesn't need to be expensive. Use blue fabric to create the sea. You can add some yellow self-adhesive fabric to create an island. Rocks, pebbles and shells will make the scene even more authentic! Cheap and cheerful bath or soft toys can be used if you don't have a set of plastic under the sea figures. You may want to add some pirate- themed toys to this set up if you have some! Space Space is another popular small world set up. Use a large piece of black fabric to create your miniature planet and then add some loose parts. Items such as pine cones, gems, conkers, star sequins and balled up pieces of tin foil will be great additions! Decorate a cardboard tube to create a telescope. If you don't have a spaceship, your child will enjoy creating one using junk materials. Bear Hunt The Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen is a great story to turn into a small world. To make the long wavy grass, fold two thirds of a strip of green paper back and snip it. Stick the third which hasn't been snipped, onto green card. A stream can be made using a piece of card covered in blue tissue paper. Brown parcel packaging makes your squelchy mud. To create trees, cut tree shapes from card, fold the bases under and stick them to a rectangular piece of card. Snow is simply cotton wool balls and a cave can be made by bending a piece of brown card. The character puppets shown in the picture were from twinkl. A free set can be found at Early Learning HQ. For a great selection of hands-on learning games and activities, don't forget to visit my No Worksheets Allowed shop. Take a look at my Amazon shop for some fun tried and tested educational resources. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Hands-on learning is absolutely the best way to teach addition and subtraction. It allows children to learn to add and subtract in a way that's interactive, fun and memorable. By using hands-on resources, children can develop a deeper understanding of addition and subtraction and will soon memorise their number bonds! When it comes to addition and subtraction resources, there are so many different options available though. Which ones should you use? This handy guide is packed full of engaging and varied resources - there's something to suit every child! 1. Magnetic Ten-Frame Set Children solve maths problems within the ten-frame by adding or subtracting counters. Four boards are included in the set, so they're perfect for use with individuals or a small group. The board is magnetic and comes with brightly coloured magnetic foam counters. Not only that - but one side of the board has one ten-frame and the other side has a double ten-frame! Ideal for differentiating your lessons. 2. Sum Swamp Game This game is a fun way to develop addition and subtraction fact fluency within 12! Children race through the swamp and are encouraged to add and subtract using the numbers 1-6. They roll three dice, place the highest number first, then the operation die and then the smallest number. As one reviewer says, 'The kids have no idea they are learning whilst they play'! 3. Addition and Subtraction Snap A fun way for children to grasp early addition and subtraction facts. Children try to snap cards with matching answers, for example 6+2 with 4+4. The cards have addition and subtraction number sentences within 10. 4. Math Marks the Spot! This activity takes up quite a bit of space, so you'll need to set it up on the floor. It's great for ensuring that children are active! The game teaches addition and subtraction to 12 and as with Sum Swamp, children roll two number dice and an operations die to make a number sentence. They then use a marker to cover the answer on the mat. There's a handy number line at the bottom for children to use to work out the answers. 5. Counting Mountain How exciting does this look! This game teaches addition facts within 10. Children hang their climbers onto the 3D mountain but better watch out for the yeti who can send them back down to the bottom! The aim of the game is to be the first to reach the summit, but you've got to solve sums along the way! 6. Addition Bingo Game Children practice addition facts to 20 with this bingo game. It's played like the traditional game: one player calls out the sums and the other players cover the answer! Fun for small groups at home or school. 7. Maths Dice - Mental Maths Children roll the white 12-sided target number die first. This is the number which they need to try to make. Next, they roll the other five dice (the scoring dice) and use addition and/or subtraction to make the target number. The more scoring dice children use to make the target number, the more spaces they can move forwards on the track! A great way to practise mental maths skills! 8. Pop Addition and Subtraction A fast-paced game designed to help children to learn addition and subtraction facts within 10. To play, children spin the spinner and take that many bubblegum cards. On the reverse of each of those bubblegum cards is a number sentence. If the child answers correctly, they get to keep the card, if not, it must be returned! The winner is the person with the most bubblegum cards at the end. 9. Mathswatters Addition and Subtraction A surefire 'hit' with any child! Children grab their swatters, add or subtract, and swat the correct answer! There are multiple ways to play this game - children can swat the correct answer or the matching number sentence, plus they can play with dice or a spinner. The different ways to play and learn keeps the game fresh and exciting! 10. Maths Island Addition and Subtraction A similar concept to Sum Swamp but this game uses addition and subtraction within 20. Children roll the two number dice and the operations die, solve the number sentence and move that many spaces around the board. The game is a bit like snakes and ladders, with many obstacles along the way! *As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Addition and Subtraction: What Next? Follow No Worksheets Allowed on Instagram and Facebook to discover more fun ideas for kids! If you love the activities shown here, make sure that you check out these other hands-on learning activities too: Addition and subtraction within 5 activities Addition and subtraction within 10 activities Addition and subtraction within 20 activities You might also be interested in the following blog posts: Fun activities for teaching doubles addition 10 activities for teaching 2D shape A fun approach to multiplication

These fun spelling activities for children in key stage one (years one and two) are perfect for home or school. They're engaging, hands-on and varied, so hopefully, you'll find some strategies which work for your child! Spelling is a crucial skill that helps children to communicate. However, young children can usually read words more accurately than they can spell them. That's why providing plenty of practice is so important! Click here to see the national curriculum spelling requirements for children in key stage one. How do I teach spelling? Some words which your child is expected to learn will be phonetically regular. In other words, they can use their phonic knowledge to spell them. With these words, encourage children to stretch the word out and emphasise pronunciation. For longer words, clap out the syllables and break the word down. Words which are irregular are those that include spelling choices which a child hasn't been introduced to yet. For example, they might attempt to spell the word 'one' as w-o-n. Tricky words like these need to be taught differently. You should talk about the tricky bits and highlight or underline them. The blog post, Tricky Words, Simple Activities has a great range of activities for teaching children to read and spell irregular words. 10 fun activities for teaching spelling Ensure that children have plenty of opportunities for saying and writing down their spellings. Use lots of movement: children can air-write the words, 'write' them on a partner's back or use a finger to write the word on the palm of their hand. The tried and tested activities shown below are ideal for small groups, continuous provision or for practising spelling at home. Using a little and often approach is the best way to make those spellings stick! 1. Twist and spell Spelling doesn't always have to be done sitting at a table! Write a letter on each circle of a twister mat (double up w/x and y/z so that they all fit on). Call out a word from your child's spelling list. They should move around the mat to spell the word. For shorter words, they could try to put a hand or foot on each of the letters in the word without losing their balance! 2. Roll and spell Write the spelling words which you're working on next to numbers 1-6 (or 1-10 if you have a 10-sided dice). Children should roll a dice and spell the corresponding word. You could try this activity outside and use chalk to write the words on the ground! 3. Type and spell Using a real keyboard or a printed image of a keyboard, your child should type out their spelling words. A fun alternative to writing! 4. Quick write spellings Set a challenge to see how many times your child can write their spelling word in 30 seconds. A good activity for any competitive kids! 5. Search and spell Hide tiny words in a picture and ask your child to search for them using a magnifying glass. Each time they find a word they should write it on a whiteboard. 6. Splat and spell Write the letters of the alphabet on pieces of paper and spread them out in alphabetical order. Call out a spelling word. Can your child splat each of the letters needed to spell it? 7. Spin and spell Divide a circle of card and write a spelling word in each section. Make a spinner mechanism by putting the point of a pencil through one end of a paperclip. Alternatively, push a split pin through a paperclip instead. Your child should spin the spinner and write the words they land on in different colours. 8. Multi-sensory spelling Writing in shaving foam, sand, flour, glitter or salt is an excellent way to help children remember their spelling words! As they write the word, children should say each letter. This is another great activity to do outside if you don't like mess! 9. Spelling game Make a board game using your spelling words. Each time a child lands on a word, they have to write it down. They don't have to write on a whiteboard, they could use a finger to write the word on somebody else's back instead. 10. Jumbled letters When your child has practised spelling a word a few times, write it on a piece of paper and chop it up. Encourage them to put the word back together in the correct order. What next? Check out these blog posts: Phonics Segmenting: The Essential Guide Phonics: 10 Activities for Your Continuous Provision Check out these editable spelling activities for ANY word list! Check out these editable spelling activities for autumn

Imagine teaching counting and number recognition without having to buy expensive resources. Well, you can and I'm here to show you how! Opportunities can EASILY be found every day through play. Hunt through your cupboards and get started with this selection of fun ideas for teaching number: Counting: When counting objects, children should be encouraged to line the items up and touch each one as they count. Remind them to say only one number for each object. With the ongoing global pandemic, hand washing provides the ideal chance to practice counting to 20! Encourage your child to count in different voices: loud/quiet/deep/ high/monster/lion, etc. Use loose parts (buttons, pine cones, pom poms, sticks, etc.) to make pictures and then count the number of each item used. Learn number rhymes: e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Once I Caught a Fish Alive; 1, 2 Buckle My Shoe; 5 Little Monkeys, 5 Currant Buns. Count with a puppet. The puppet could make deliberate mistakes for your child/children to correct! They will absolutely love this! Hold up the correct number of fingers as you count. Blow bubbles outdoors – how many can you pop? Who can pop the most? Can you pop more the next time? Count whilst banging a drum/tambourine, shaking bells. Say a number and ask your child to count that many cubes out of the tub to make a tower. Take a handful of toy dinosaurs (or anything which relates to your child's interests) and count how many you have. Play sand timer games: how many pegs can you put on a pegboard/beads can you thread/pompoms can you collect with tweezers in 1 minute? Use a parachute full of balls. Throw the balls up and count how many are left in the parachute and how many are on the ground. Challenge children to tidy away 10/20 things at tidy up time! Children love to be competitive and us adults love a tidy room! Number Recognition Splat the number – lay out number cards on the floor. Give your child a fly swatter to swat the number which is called out. Count together using a giant/mouse/whisper/scary voice, whilst pointing to a large number line. Write down some tiny numbers for the children to read using magnifying glasses. Go on a number hunt - take binoculars and telescopes to aid the search! Can children spot numbers on doors, registration plates, signs, etc? Take a handful of cubes each, count them and then find the matching number card. Throw beanbags onto a number target mat (or numbers written in chalk outside). Stick numbers to toy cars and ask children to say the number on their car. Hide numbers outside - challenge children to find and say the numbers. Put numbers in a bag or hat - children pick a number out and say it. Make numbered road signs for children to drive their toy cars past. Write numbers on tiny pieces of paper and screw them up into a ball. Children can pick one using tweezers, open out and read the number with a magnifying glass. Make numbers using feathers. Arrange the feathers in the shape of a numeral on card and stick them down. Ask your child to trace over each number with a finger. Write numbers on paper plates - children attach the correct number of pegs to each one. For example, if the plate has a number 5 written on it, they will clip 5 pegs around outside. Make the imprint of numbers into playdough. Children roll a marble around each number to get used to how it is formed. They will initially need the support of an adult to ensure that they form the number correctly. So, get searching through your house or classroom for resources and try out some of these great activities today. Hopefully you've found the ideas in this post useful, simple and most of all - FUN! Counting and Number Recognition - What Next? Check out these engaging downloadable games and activities! You will find a collection of my favourite number resources here!* If you like the look of these activities, make sure that you also take a look at: Fun Activities for Learning Letters and Sounds *As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Image from Pixabay Hands-on learning is amazing, but it can sometimes be quite time-consuming, not to mention expensive to set up. We know that it's the best approach for our children and most of us want to provide it, but we also need activities that are quick and low-prep for us to fling together. Time is of the essence! Apart from this website, where else can you find a 'no fluff' easy and fun approach to play-based learning? Don't worry, we've compiled a list of eight great websites to help you out. ABC DOES Home learning ideas Early Years blog posts Online training Educational consultant FIVE MINUTE MUM Fun 5 minute games and activities Advice and tips Books also available Mum and former teaching assistant MY MUMMY TEACHER Teaching, learning and play expert Blog posts for parents and carers Learning through play cards also available Mummy to a little one 7 DAYS OF PLAY Playful learning, crafts and sensory fun DIY activities Free printable activities Activities by age PHONICS FAMILY Making phonics fun Phonics leader Ideas for all of the phases of phonics Online learning ideas and printables PLAY MAKES SENSE Activities that are simple to set up but meaningful and engaging Use items that you already have Sensory play Phonics and maths activity cards also available PLAYFUL LEARNING GAMES English and maths learning games for 6-11 year olds Advocate of play based learning English and maths game ideas Digital downloads Membership option available MUM'S SCHOOL OF FUN Making learning fun Teacher and mum Activities for 0-8 year olds Blog posts, activities and printables If you would like to recommend a great website for hands on learning, feel free to add a link to it in the comments below! If you're an advocate of learning through play, you'll love these downloadable resources! Take a look at my Amazon shop for some fun tried and tested educational resources. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.