• About
  • contact
  • Advertise

Picklebums

Activities, recipes, free printables and life with four kids

  • Home
  • Activities for kids
  • family food
  • parenting
  • Printables
  • farm tales
  • shop

Using Foam Board for Imaginative Play

Posted on October 15, 2013 21 Comments

Using a foam board for imaginative play - lots of poking, building and imagining!

One good thing about the never ending renovations is that there is always a steady stream of interesting boxes, packaging, and building left overs to play with. Recently our shower screen came packed with some big, foam boards. Of course I stashed them away somewhere safe because I knew they would be good for something, sometime.

The other day Noah lost his mind because he couldn’t make the blocks stand up the way he wanted to make a house for an animal. While I tried (in vain) to explain why I couldn’t change the laws of physics to make the block sit just right I had an idea! I knew just what to do with one of those foam boards!

It stared out as a fun painting activity.

Using a foam board for imaginative play - lots of poking, building and imagining!

Noah went to town with his foam brushes and rollers until the whole board was covered and we set it aside to dry.

Using a foam board for imaginative play - lots of poking, building and imagining!

The next day I set the foam board up on the table and collected a few bits and pieces similar to those Noah had been playing with when he’d had the melt down. Some animals, some elves, some plastic gems and some blocks. Then I went outside and collected a bundle of small sticks, a few flowers and some sprigs of grass.

By now I had Noah’s attention, and as he climbed up on his chair I stuck a few sticks into the foam and said…

“Do you remember the other day when the blocks wouldn’t stay where you wanted them? Well you can poke things into this foam and they will stand up!”

“Oh!” was the only response I got as he immediately started poking the sticks into the foam…

Using a foam board for imaginative play - lots of poking, building and imagining!

He poked in lines of sticks and arranged blocks to make a house for the horse, and then one for the lions.

Using a foam board for imaginative play - lots of poking, building and imagining!

He trotted back and forth gathering some other bits and pieces, some extra people, and more animals and added more and more things to the scene.

Using a foam board for imaginative play - lots of poking, building and imagining!

Noah is three and this combination of building and imagination is right up his alley. Plus it put his fine motor skills to the test with all the poking and it saved me from another melt down!

We still have a few more foam boards…
I wonder what we could do with them?

41 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

Filed Under: Activities for kids Tagged With: activities for preschoolers, activities for toddlers, imaginative play

Read the comments or scroll down to add your own:

  1. rebecca at thisfineday says

    That is adorable and there are so many levels of creativity here! Love this. I can see my kids totally getting into making one of these. Thanks for the post!

    Reply
  2. Sarah says

    What a great idea! I reckon this would keep my little man entertained for a while too…

    Reply
  3. Lucy @ Bake Play Smile says

    What a clever way to use a foam board! Practical but fun… I love it!!! :-)

    Reply
  4. Kate Lloyd says

    What a great activity! I bet he was proud of what he’d made. The painting effect looks gorgeous too!

    Reply
  5. Marsha says

    Looks great! I’m always joking that my 3 year old’s favourite activities are those which try to defy the laws of physics and gravity…
    Needless to say, we have a lot of meltdowns. She likes doing things like building block towers – and trying to balance a block on top of a pyramid piece…. Hmm, not gonna work!
    Just showed her this and she said, “Can I play with that little boy?”
    Awww.

    Reply
    • katepickle says

      Awww… ‘that little boy’ would love to have a friend to play with, especially one who understands his need to change the laws of physics! LOL

      Reply
      • Marsha says

        Yes! Kindred spirits :)

        Reply
  6. Kate - An Everyday Story says

    Love love love! :)

    Reply
  7. [email protected] Little Bookcase says

    Beautiful. I’m sure I’ve got some foam here. I can just imagine Cammy created some sort of Enchanted Forest :)

    Reply
  8. Danya Banya says

    Love this!

    Reply
  9. Nae peters says

    I love this combination
    Such a clever idea to create and make a little imaginary play scene

    Reply
  10. neelika says

    thank you for sharing your great experience! love it…NE

    Reply
  11. Tiffany says

    Hello there!! :D I have just subscribed to your website… I LOVE it! I am hoping to start a little in home Preschool and your ideas are fabulous! Do you homeschool your children? I homeschooled mine ( now 13 and 11) but this year they headed to school to try it out! I hate it and want them back!! Luckily I have a one year old to keep me busy!! Thank you for your wonderful ideas! I’m so inspired! :D

    Reply
    • katepickle says

      Hi Tiffany, so pleased to have you here!

      We did consider homeschooling our kids, but in the end we decided their needs would be better met at our small local primary school. Some days I am sad that they are not at home learning with me, but I am also glad to see them loving school and growing both at school and at home.

      Reply
  12. Annette says

    SO fun! I love it and so will my 2 year old son! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  13. Debs says

    So much fun!! Love this :)

    Reply
  14. Rachel | Racheous says

    I love the process involved and the versatility of the foam board once it is created. So awesome seeing little ones be able to get involved in the production of items for their play. I really like the natural items in the foam. Great idea, thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  15. Elise @ Creative Play Central says

    Noah created such a fantastic play scene. Combining the animals, blocks and natural resources makes for a magical place.

    Reply
  16. [email protected] says

    Absolutely love this Kate. The idea of painting and then with poking the sticks…genius and such a great way for toddlers to explore without getting frustrated. Yay, another idea with sticks for my programming this week ;) Pinned!

    Reply
  17. Kate says

    I need to get my hands on a large block of foam, my daughter just looked over my shoulder and wants to make one of these!

    Reply
  18. Chelsea says

    This is so creative!! Next time I will definitely hold on to those big foam boards, I have NEVER come up with a way to use them (besides letting the boys destroy them LOL). Thanks for sharing :-)

    Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Home » Using Foam Board for Imaginative Play
welcome
pinterestfacebooktwitterinstagram

Search around a bit…

You might also like…

How I meal plan for an entire month in just half an hour!

How I Meal Plan for a Month in Half an Hour

ALphabet find and colour activity - free printable

Alphabet Find and Colour Activity – Free Printable

Find our printable puppets here Find our easy art activities here find our easy dinner recipes here

Find Activities by Age

  • Baby play
  • Toddler Fun
  • Preschooler Fun
  • School Kids Fun
  • Fun for Everyone

Subscribe to our newsleter

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work, learn and live, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation, and we pay respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Find posts by month

Browse all my crazy categories

Copyright © 2021 • Powered by WordPress
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
  • Home
  • contact
  • advertise
  • Privacy Policy