Don’t be afraid to take them outside and stage small world settings in the great outdoors. They are often dressed for good old fashioned adventures, with hats and coats, tents and knapsacks, prams and strollers among other clothes and useful items. Outdoor play with Maileg mice and other toys is easy. It’s the perfect way to get lost in storytelling and make the hours pass more quickly on long journeys. Or choose a boxed set like the Princess and the Pea for a readymade small world. It might seem that Maileg makes an unlikely travel toy but the mice make perfect companions, fitting snugly into pockets and bags. Matchbox world: boxes, shelves and other nooks and crannies can become spaces for small world play A pocketful of Maileg Even the Maileg matchbox mice, come in their own little beds with pillows and blankets that can be their own little universe. For example the Maileg book house offers a small, self-contained space inspired by books and stories, where small world play can unfold. In fact, a number of Maileg toys come in their own kind of small-world setting. Cut out windows and doors, paint the walls. A shelf, a shoebox or even just a shoe will do just fine.īoxes are particularly good because they’re both portable and easy to decorate. Children will use any nook or cranny for small world play.

The Maileg doll’s house inspires many hours of small world play and it is big enough to house both bunnies and mice.īut you don’t always need a dedicated space. Lunchtime: re-enacting scenes from their everyday lives helps children make sense of their worlds Create small worlds to maximise play potential Get a doll’s house (or not) This is the magic ingredient in preschoolers’ play and it’s the key to unlocking a number of new skills. Does your child talk to herself while she plays?Īnd there’s one more thing, something you’ll only notice if you stop and listen as your child gets deeper into her play: private speech. Look out for a blog post on this topic soon. It could be an older child or adult though it can also be a peer.

Social constructivists believe that children learn through interactions with a more knowledgeable ‘other’. In fact, it’s one of the most important ways that we learn. All children enjoy quiet time alone with their toys but sometimes it’s nice to collaborate. Playing with Maileg can also be something you do together. It allows children to explore events in their own lives, helping them to make sense of the world around them. The smaller, more enclosed cousin of imaginative play, in small world play children are free to imagine and narrate their own stories and dramas, all on a child-size scale. This, along with their dreamy accessories and props such as matchbox beds, camping tents and motorbikes, makes them the perfect toys for small-world play. There’s a theme of nurture and caring running through almost every Maileg character. The result is a collection of toys for girls and boys that feels at once homespun and traditional, while also having great humour and bags of fairytale magic. Buttons, bows, blankets and other items are all hand-sewn, with fabrics and materials in soft, muted colours and textures. Maileg make dolls and doll’s houses with a whimsical charm (mice who live in matchboxes and dancing bunnies who lounge on daybeds in gold tutus) and meticulous attention to detail in their clothes and accessories. Maileg was founded by the award-winning Danish illustrator and designer Dorthe Mailil and the name is a mixture of her surname and ‘leg’, the Danish word for play. For preschoolers How do you pronounce ‘Maileg’?.Does your child talk to herself while she plays?.

Mouse house furniture