The things you can do with a pallet!
Our wooden pallets are definitely our best used resource for building and constructing. They can be tied together, stacked on top of each other, used as a painting easel and more! We thought it would be nice to share what the children have used them for this week.
Ben the builder has been on top form once again, arranging the pallets in creative and inspiring ways. Two pallets were balanced together and tied together to use as a painting easel. A line was tied around so that paper could be hung up and the children could stand as they painted with some natural brushes made with sticks and leaves stuck together with tape.
The most amazing castle (drawbridge and all!) was built too. It was used as a base by most of the children who went in and out throughout the day; cooking, sleeping and being on the look out for enemies! We thought about what real castles might have on them if enemies were close by and it inspired some of the children to go in search of a canon! They found a plastic bottle from the mud kitchen and balanced it on top of the drawbridge, making sure they weren’t too close when it got fired!
Pallets can make great tables for creative stations too! This week, planks have been placed on top of them to make a huge area for mark making with chalk and to make cardboard sculptures. The children chose to sit on top of the tables when using the chalk, making shapes around their bodies. Katie asked if anyone would like to lie down, and she could draw around them! Everyone wanted a go and had a good laugh when they saw their outline with wellie boot, hands and hair shapes!
The creative cardboard station was a place children could come to make anything they liked by sticking, gluing, colouring and cutting cardboard pieces. There were some wonderful outcomes including a car with working wheels and an army tank that spun around!
The mud kitchen has been transformed into the “John Lewis bakery” which has meant lots of customers queuing up for cakes, meatballs, pancakes and pizza! The bakers soon realised the items being sold were running out fast. To improve their bakery, they hired a few new employees including a waitress, and bakery assistants! This helped massively and the bakery was a success. The reviews have been fantastic, and we can personally recommend the “pancakes mixed with milk!”. Wooden pallets were chosen to display the yummy treats and to use as a shop counter where customers could give their order to the waitress.
Isn’t it great that a resource so simple can take on so many forms! They aren’t fancy or that exciting to look at, but the children’s imagination and create ideas make them really come to life and transform into the best activities and structures for play. We can’t wait to see how our pallets get used next week!
Have a lovely weekend all!
Little Forest Folk
Fulham