Small World Play

Small World Toys UK

Let’s start by defining what small world play is – Small world play is a type of play where children use their imaginations to create scenes and tell stories using miniature objects. It helps to define the world around them and is a very popular activity from the time our little ones become toddlers.

Small World Play can be big or small so it doesn’t have to need a lot of room, you can even take things in a bag for when you are out and about to keep the entertainment alive. Simple ideas include Hape’s Airplane & Tape Roll, Car & Tape or Train & Tape are ideal. If you do have a vehicle lover special gift ideas include items like the Large Crane expand on the theme and have lots of interesting pieces for great storytelling.

Animals are also popular small world idea. You can create play worlds with individual animals such as a dog, a cat or a group of animals like our Riverside Ramblers, or Stacking Farm Animals.

Small World Play Sets

Here at Wood Bee Nice, we have the full range of wooden figures from Lanka Kade, they are ideal for this type of play and suitable from just 10+ months. To make life a little bit easier, we have curated our own bundles which provide themes based around current interests. Favourites include Everyday Heroes Bundle where familiarity with key workers can be established, or perhaps our best selling British Bird Bundle perfect for the Great British Bird Watch in January.

Another brand that we love is PlayPress. These are wonderfully original sets that have a construction element and a foldable pack away system that makes them truly transportable. The sets have characters, some familiar such as Room on the Broom, Zog Eco Friendly Playset and Shaun the Sheep Eco Friendly Playset.

Our Best Selling Wooden Small World Toys

• Ultimate Bug Buddies Bundle – Learn all about different insects with these 10 bugs. Lanka Kade animals can be sorted and stacked due to their chunky size. They are great for developing fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, language development and spatial awareness.
• Bunny & Guinea Pig Dolls House Pet Set – Say hello to an adorable bunny and it’s 2 guinea pig friends. Perfect for nurturing early learning development such as fine motor skills and coordination. Understanding how to care for a pet is a great life skill which can be carried through to later life.
• Bay Tree House Dolls House – A very special gift, as a deluxe 3 storey home with lots of details providing just the ticket to ignite imaginations and encourage small world play. Can be used with small world figures and furnished using our Le Toy Van sets.

What are the Benefits of Small World Play in Early Childhood?

In short, there are so many that Small World Play should not be ignored. Due to the imaginative nature of play, language development is a primary benefit through the descriptive vocabulary used as stories are created. You will also find that by its open ended nature that attention and concentration can become longer as children will want to continue the narrative.

During play the reasoning and problem solving skills used to make the stories work develop cognitive thinking, help to understand emotions, describe them and work through worries by acting them out. It shows an understanding of the world around them, shows how they would deal with different situations and the role that they and others would play in them.

Accessories for Small World Play

You can use as few accessories and pieces as you like for Small World Play, it can be inside a cardboard box, on a tray or structured to a theme, so with cars and vehicles you can have roads for the vehicles to drive along like the Shape Drive Around Boards & Connectors and match those with the Wooden Town Playset.

The key to remember is that a childs imagination can take them anywhere and the small world toys that they have can be used in many different stories with their choice of accessories whether that be structured or a simple cardboard box.