A teddy bears picnic is a classic activity that works really well for young children in the early years. I love this activity as it’s simple to set up and highly engaging. You only need a few teddies, plates and play food from around the house. Not to mention the developmental benefits this has for your little one and a fun way to spend some time interacting and enjoying your time together.
You can choose to set this up without your child around, but I really enjoyed letting my 2 year old make some decisions and allowing her to control the play. She enjoyed choosing which teddy bears earned an invite, laying the blanket and deciding which food we should have at our picnic. We carried out our picnic inside, but can be lovely to take this outside on a sunny day.
This activity is fantastic for communication and language skills, and is a great opportunity to help children extend their vocabulary. We love the LeapFrog Picnic Basket which we included here, both my girls have had one and have found it to be a toy that engages them again and again. We have this one here:https://www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/toys/pre-school-and-electronic-learning/leapfrog-toys/leapfrog-infant/leapfrog-shapes-and-sharing-picnic-basket/p/167490. The little wooden cakes, doughnuts and macaroons are all from the last Aldi Wooden Toy event and have been perfect for role playing shops, tea parties and now, teddy bear picnics!
How this supports development:
- Communication and Language. This role play activity allows for plenty of conversation between you and your child and also through the bears. I like to let my 2 year old take the lead in the play and extend vocabulary and sentences as we go.
- Understanding the World. Helps develop an understanding of the world through role playing the events of a picnic. Point out the order of events, such as starting by laying the blanket down, ensuring everyone has a plate and cup and then moving on to opening the food. How can we make sure everyone has enough to eat?
- Mathematics. This can be a great activity to practice some numbers. How many teddies are there? How many plates and cups will they need? The LeapFrog Basket also helps to embed shapes and colours.
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development. Children can practise their sharing skills and caring for their teddies. Conversations around healthy eating can also be included here.
A classic activity but one that I hope isn’t forgotten! If you’ve got a bit of a time to spare and unsure what to do with your child, why not grab some teddies and have a pretend picnic? Do you and your child enjoy these role playing activities?
If you are looking for more early years activities, why not have a look at this simple colour sorting activity:https://theeducatormum.co.uk/early-years-colour-sort-activity/.