Build it up

Add to My Folder

By Debbie Chalmers — qualified nursery nurse, drama consultant and writer.

As an extension of our ‘Designing and making’ activities in the December issue, Debbie Chalmers shares a drama workshop she carried out with her two- to five-year-olds

We explored the theme of construction and growth through a range of songs, rhymes, stories, acting, mime and free play, then went on to encourage the children’s creativity further.

Cardboard tubes, such as those found in the centre of rolls of kitchen paper, are extremely versatile for use in art and craft work, creative, imaginative and pretend play. Over several weeks, we collected a huge bag of cardboard tubes for the children to use for creative play. Some of the tubes were left at their original length, while others were cut into smaller sections. We then provided the children with various joining materials, pens, coloured paper, coloured card and stickers and invited them to use their imaginations while building and constructing with them. The originality of their various ideas were a joy to watch.