At school Esther and William are learning about The Cold

We are extending that learning at home

Through a range of art and craft activities

Through fiction and non fiction books

And through play

We began our home play by building a den

Construction play and role play are really important for young children

Building and playing in a den is a rite of passage that all children should enjoy

And all you need is space, time, imagination and a few materials

Poles, material?

Sticks and leaves?

A cardboard box?

Children can build anything out of almost nothing

Esther and William love a den

For The Cold they chose to make an igloo!

These are places of secrecy in childhood,places to sit and observe the world or places to escape it entirely. Children use dens and forts to be alone, and to be alone with one another.

Our igloo adventure began with exciting deliveries from Cosatto and Kiddy

The enormous boxes were just perfect for making dens

Together we decided on an igloo

We watched some Pingu for inspiration

Esther and William were keen to have a sleeping area

And a feeding area

They wanted their igloo to be near an ice hole for fishing

They wanted beds made out of snow

Together we worked and the igloo began to take shape

Perhaps more in our imaginations than in real life

A child might, with materials or imagination, build a representation of a familiar location such as a shop so that they can practice symbolic play. They might create a place that echoes another place but offers a different relationship, such as a house in which they are the adults. They might create a place unlike any they have ever visited, such as a jungle tree house, a pirate’s tropical hideout, or a space station.

Researchers such as David Sobel have often discussed children’s play buildings as either creating order out of
chaos or, arguably, chaos out of order. A distinction is often made between a den that is like a ‘little house’, where the child enjoys games of cleaning, tidying and ordering of small treasures, and a ‘wild’ den, or bush
house, where play will often reference the hunting or evasion of wild animals. Both preparation and consumption of food (real or symbolic) is often found in both.

It was lovely watching Esther and William set up their igloo home

And being part of their imaginary world

We took on roles of baby, child and mummy penguins

Took on jobs such as hunting and protecting and home making

The igloo den provided a place for them to be

They made little seats

To sit outside their pretend igloo and eat their real snacks

Pretending their real food was raw fish from the icy sea

They played the role of baby penguins

Waiting for a parent to return from the sea and feed them

They played the role of daddy penguins

Huddling together to stay warm and protect their eggs

They hid in their igloo from predators

And the freezing icy winds

Esther and William played for hours in their igloo

The next day I asked daddy to help us improve it

What he actually did was to help Esther and William create a new igloo

This made them think about the shape and look of their den

They made the igloo together with rope and sticks and white sheets of packaging plastic

Esther and William love it

They have set up camp in it

They have sleepovers in it

Often Esther is a penguin and William is a train

Then it becomes their ‘shigloo’

Half igloo and half engine shed

I do love my children!

They adore their new igloo

Their daddy made igloo

They curl up in it and chat

Snuggle up and read

Cuddle up and chat

It is their place

The two of them

To be together

To be alone

To hide from the rest of their busy world

As themselves

As penguins

As engines

It is their space to play

I look over and see Esther lying on the floor

She is stargazing she says

Watching the Northern Lights

I see William crouching outside the igloo

He is by the ice hole

Trying to catch fish

Or he is Percy

About to take the mail train!

Sometimes they invite me into their world

Bea and me

Other times we are asked to watch them play

It is always a privilege to have a window into their world

Real or imaginary

Playing with them is an honour

“You don’t stop playing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop playing”
George Bernard Shaw