Esther is at an age

A stage in her development

Where she likes to be and do and play alone

She loves coming home from school

To find an activity that has been laid out just for her

Designed with her in mind

At the moment in her small world tray

She has a beautiful, magical sensory spring garden

I covered the base of the large square gardening tray with silver foil

I love the way it reflects colour and light

It also promotes discussion about shadows and reflections

I added three battery powered pillar candles

To give a soft, warm glow

This looks especially magical first thing in the morning

And as early evening draws near

The silver foil is covered with pom poms

Of all different spring colours and sizes

They are loose in the tray so that Esther can choose how she uses them

And what she uses them for

In one corner of the tray is a pond

Made of green and blue glass beads

They sparkle in the candle light

And glisten as the sun shines through the playroom window

Two fairy thrones are positioned beside the pond

This garden, Esther decides, has a dog for a king

And a pussycat queen

Peeping round the pillar candles is a magical unicorn

Keeping a close eye on Peter Rabbit and his friends

All around the garden

Flower fairies are dancing and singing

And working hard for the king and the queen

As Esther loses herself in her sensory play

She narrates what the characters are doing

Sharing the story of her pretty spring garden

With anyone who will listen

Inspired by our recent bedtime stories

The garden soon become a land

At the top of The Faraway Tree

And Esther is Silky the woodland fairy

At the top of the tree with her friends

Esther loves dressing up

And can often be found extending small world play to role play

And inviting William to share and extend her games

Esther is a quiet little thing

But her imagination is enormous and loud

It can take her to places so beautiful and bright

And full of the magic of her dreams

Inspired by the stories that we read

The pom poms used for this sensory garden were provided by Baker Ross as part of my work as a Baker Ross Blogger