Two weeks in and you’ve played with every toy in the house, watched every film on TV and never want to watch [insert relevant children’s TV programme here] again right!?

Time to get creative! We have lots of different resources at nursery but some of our best play happens using things that we find around the house or in the garden.  We thought we’d share a few with you and some of the ideas of things to do with them.

Here’s our challenge for you though – we’d love to see you trying out some of the ideas below but also getting inventive yourself with things you can find around the house.

This is not a…Stick – A stick is the ultimate resource to encourage imagination. The things it can be are endless: a wand, a pen, a horse, a fireman’s hose, a flag, the list goes on. What can you use sticks for? Let children use their imagination and share their ideas and get stuck in.

This is not a…Box – Another one with limitless ideas. What is your child interested in at the moment? Follow their interests and use the box to enhance them. Interested in space? Head to the moon in your box rocket! Interested in dinosaurs? Get into your box time machine and head back to see them! Been playing lots of hide and seek? Make it into the best den and hiding place ever!

This is not a…Sheet/Duvet – The ultimate material for den building of course and we’d love to see your biggest and best dens you can create. What else can you use them for though? They could be the sail for a boat, a rug for a picnic or even for dressing up. Show us your best ideas!

This is not a…Pan – Pans are great for making noise (sorry!). Trying using lots of different things from around the house – what makes the loudest noise or the quietest noise? There are lots of other things pans are good for though – they might be a great helmet for example! What else can you think of?

This is not a…Spoon – A great addition for noise making with your pans and also a wooden spoon is a a great alternative to the stick if you’re not able to go out stick collecting. But what else can you use it for? Could you be a conductor for your family and teach them some of our nursery songs?

This is not a…Colander – An excellent hat or helmet for heading off an adventures in your box creations. They are also great for posting things into the holes to develop fine motor skills. But we’re sure you can think of lots of other ways of to use and we’d love to see them!

This is not a…Cushion – Can you create a cosy corner for sharing stories? Or you could use them as stepping stones as part of an obstacle course? They could even make part of a fancy dress outfit! We’re sure you can come up with some great ideas too!

This is not a…Tshirt – Get imaginative with clothes. You could put on a fashion show with each other’s clothes or use them as uniform or costumes for your role play ideas. Do you have anything you could use as a spacesuit or to go exploring? We’d love to see pictures of your crazy outfits and any other imaginative ways you find to use clothes and accessories.

So there you go, a few of our thoughts and ideas but we’re sure you have loads more! Please do share what you’ve been up to, we love seeing what fun you’re having.