S is in love with dinosaurs right now, so of course, we had to make a Dinosaur Swamp Small World Play. Small worlds are a great way to promote imaginative play and to learn and explore different environments.
We have been reading a lot of books about dinosaurs, her favorite being the Magic Tree House: Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne. S also has a pack of dinosaurs and she loves for me to tell her what each dinosaur is.
How to Make a Swamp
You will need to make the gelatin to use for the swamp, the day before you want to play. I followed the directions on the back of a package of gelatin and added in one package of lime jello to add a lovely scent and color to the gelatin. I did sub out water in the recipe instead of the suggested fruit juices.
I let my gelatin firm up over night, the next morning I ran a spoon through the gelatin to loosen it up and make it textured.
Assembling the Dinosaur Swamp
To assemble the Dinosaur Swamp Small World, we gathered the “swamp”, chocolate colored/scented rice (you could use dirt or sand or omit), our Toob dinosaurs (or any plastic dinosaurs you may have), and plastic trees, rocks, and fences.
We took all of our supplies outside to our water table. I added the gelatin and rice to the table. Then I let S arrange the swamp as she wanted. Placing the trees, rocks and fences around before she started adding the dinosaurs.
Play Time
S started adding in the dinosaurs and deciding if they like the swamp or would prefer the dirt. Some of the dinosaurs played together others stayed away from each other. S had so much fun squeezing the gelatin through her fingers, sinking the dinosaurs into the swamp and pulling them back out.
S played and played and played creating different scenes, moving the dinosaurs from the swamp to the dirt and back again. We talked about the different types of dinosaurs and which ones eat meat and which ones eat plants.
When the sun got too hot, we moved the water table into the shade to continue with the playing. By the end, the swamp had lost all of its gelatin and turned to green water from the heat. Which created even more fun as the swamp mixed with the dirt.
Check out some of our other small world play activities here.
For more fun activities using a water table, check out this post.
Oh, what fun! I remember when my son was into all things dinosaurs and would name them all! I would have to stay on my toes to keep up with him.
Isn’t that the truth! S has such a good memory and I have to keep looking up what each dinosaurs name is.
How fun! I have been wanting to get Hampton a water table! Where did you buy yours?
We have had our table about three years and it has held up well! We use our table a lot so it was definitely a good investment. Our table is by Step 2 and I believe I got it at Target.
You always come up with some of the funniest ideas for S’s water table. I would have never thought about using gelatin.
Thank you Louida!
What a cool idea! Too bad my kids are passed the stage of enjoying this, but my I’ve nieces and nephews that would be all over this. Pinning for sure.
Thank you Lysha! I hope you neices and nephews enjoy!
Paris, this is wonderful. As the school year begins and I help teachers with early learning ideas, this will fit perfectly into the curriculum.
Thank you Reginia! I am so glad that you will be able to use this.
What a great way to use the water table! I would have never thought of this! Thanks for the idea.
How adorable!! Your daughter is super lucky to have you 🙂
http://neatly-packaged.com/
Thank you Nancy; you are so sweet!
This is just REALLY, really cute! If my son was a little younger I would so do this for him!
Thank you Carrie!
What a fun idea! I’d have never thought of using gelatin like that.
Thank you Megan. We had lots of fun!
How fun! I’ve been looking to make some creative, sensory play boxes for a child my mother babysits each week. This might be something she would enjoy on a smaller scale.
That sounds like a great idea Andrea!
love, love, love this! Its fantastic sensory play as well as imaginative play. The list goes on of all the reasons that we should do this with our kids. My little guy would really like this. He’s into dinos really big, right now 🙂
Thanks Tiffany! I hope you are able to try this activity with your son.
Such a cute idea! I will be clicking over to your other play ideas. Thanks!
Thank you for stopping by Kelly! I hope you find some activities to use.
I love this idea, so simple yet hours of fun. Pinning it for my farm crafts. Thank you for sharing the idea on Country Kids.
Thank you Fiona! It was so much fun.
Such a cool idea and lots of fun! I love the use of the jelly 🙂 x
Thank you Shay! I hope you enjoy the activity.
So glad I have found your blog – some brilliant ideas. Thanks!!
#countrykids
Thank you Karen!
I can see love in her eyes! What a lovely game to play =) #countrykids
Thank you Merlinda, she had so much fun!
What a cool idea! Pinned. Lou Lou Girls
Thank you Kimberly
My son is totally into dinosaurs at the moment! He would flip for this! Thanks for sharing at the Teach Me Tuesday Linky Party:)
I hope he enjoys it! Thanks Adrian
What a great activity! I love the little mini environments. There is so much to learn and the play seems to last for hours. I never would have thought of gelatin, what a great idea! Thanks so much for linking up to Snickerdoodle Sunday!
Thank you! S does seem to play and play and play.
This is such a fun idea! I’ll bet your daughter loved it. She is beautiful! Thanks for sharing with Creative Spark Link Party. Hope you join us again tomorrow.
Glenna @ My Paper Craze
Thank you Glenna! She did have a blast!