Wintertime Wish List: 5 Ways With… A sieve

Any cardboard box will do! A little bit of recycling mixed with the magic of imagination – truly a special gift for wee ones. 

  1. Christmas sculptures

    Using fine and gross motor skills, wee ones will use their curiosity and problem-solving skills to find out what can be popped through the holes in the sieve, ultimately creating a prickly, spikey Christmas sculpture. We find pipe cleaners, spaghetti and wool work really well.

  2. Snow making

    Using your trusty kitchen utensil, take some flour or use up those last tiny bits of chalk and shake away! Outside or in a tub, be mesmerized watching the “snow” float through the sieve. Make shapes by placing hands underneath, shake the sieve above, and when ready move hands away – there should be a hand shape left behind. What shape does a spoon leave behind? You can even turn it into a bubble wand, using washing up liquid mixed with water and blowing out the bubbles – it really will feel like its snowing!

  3. Festive role play

    Popping the sieve on your head might turn you into a cheeky little elf or maybe you’re a yeti with the sieve protecting your face from the snow as you battle through the icy artic winds. Play together exploring all the ways you can wear the sieve.

  4. Festive tunes

    Using your sieve as a musical instrument is a truly magical way to sing Christmas songs together or simply explore the sounds that you can make. Use utensils as drumsticks or twirl a spoon round the inside of the sieve and listen to the magical tune it makes.

  5. Starry nights

    Turn the lights off, lie down – it’s a magical starry night. After some festive baking, take your upside-down sieve into a dark room, shine a torch through it,and see how it lights up the ceiling. If possible, leave the sieve unwashed – leftover icing sugar and flour make the most wonderful constellations. Try making shapes with your hands to see what fun characters might pass through the night sky. Adding extrathings on to your sieve will bring it to life too – is it areindeer or maybe even Santa?