Who Walked Through The Jungle?
Age: 2–6 years
Play Type: Sensory / Imaginative Play / Loose Parts
Duration: 20–30 minutes
Preparation
Materials
- Homemade playdough or soft sensory dough
- Natural loose parts
- Twigs
- Leaves
- Small stones
- Bark pieces
- Yarn
- Stimulate jungle animals / Cardboard animal footprints
You can make simple footprint shapes from cardboard or animal toys.
Tools
- Tuff tray or shallow sensory tray
- Rolling pin
- Small bowls
- Optional: animal footprint stamps
Setup
Create a simple jungle floor inside a tuff tray.
Spread a thin layer of playdough across several sections.
Place loose parts around the tray.
Add a few mysterious footprints leading from one side to another.
Don’t show children what made the footprints.
Invitation:
“Someone walked through our jungle… Can you find out who?”
Steps
1. Discover the tracks
Let children investigate the footprints.
2. Make their own tracks
Use fingers, twigs, stones or cardboard shapes to press marks into the dough.
3. Create a path
Children can make a trail through the jungle.
4. Add a hiding place
Use blocks, cardboard or natural materials to create a shelter.
5. Invent a creature
The creature doesn’t have to be a real animal.
6. Tell the story
Ask children where the creature went and what happened.
Prompts
- “Who made this footprint?”
- “Where is it going?”
- “Is it big or small?”
- “Does it walk, hop or crawl?”
- “Can you make a different footprint?”
- “Where does your creature hide?”
- “What did it find in the jungle?”
- “What happened next?”