Build a Gnome Home
Spark your child’s imagination and creative thinking skills by building a whimsical gnome home. Make a single home or an entire village. For some bonus fun, build your gnome home outside in a lush patch of greenery or in the crannies of a tree trunk to make it even more magical.
What You’ll Need:
- Craft glue
- Twigs, acorns, leaves, moss, pinecones, pebbles or anything else you find outside
- Buttons, cloth scraps, glitter and little shiny things
- Cardboard, paper plate, milk carton or jug to use as a base
What You’ll Do:
- Lay out the supplies
- Help your child choose a base
- Let your child choose the materials they want to include on their gnome home
- Start building! There’s no right or wrong way to create a gnome home, so encourage your child to let their imagination run wild.
Added fun!
- Create doors and windows by cutting out squares in the base.
- Use battery-operated tea lights as a campfire or fireplace.
- Create a story about the gnome that lives in the home. What do they look like? What do they do for fun? What do they like to eat?
What Kids Learn
- Communication→ Using materials in surprising ways
- Creative Thinking→ Telling stories
How to Support the Play
- Let your child be the architect; guide them as needed, but avoid taking control.
- Focus on the process of creating, not the outcome.
- Ask questions to spark storytelling. (example: “Where does the gnome eat breakfast?”)