Five little play ideas. One very big role for their imagination.

1. Make a hat for a very unusual customer

You need: a toy dinosaur or a drawing, plus paper and crayons. A grown-up can help with cutting if you choose to cut anything.

Begin: “Our dinosaur wants a hat. What might get in the way?” Let your child point out horns, a long neck, a bumpy back or something entirely invented. Sketch a hat around their answer.

Follow their idea: “How will it stay on?” If the answer is sticky clouds, use sticky clouds in the story. If they want to explain how real hats fit, follow that instead. You do not need to steer both paths toward the same conclusion.

A little next step: give the hat a name and draw where the dinosaur will wear it. Our Little Hat Workshop offers a prewritten version if you would like a starting point.

2. Open the Museum of Magnificent Buildings

You need: blocks, cushions, cardboard boxes, or a picture of a building.

Begin: ask your child to be the guide. “What is your building called? Show me your favorite part.” The visitor can be you, a favorite soft toy, or a completely imaginary mayor.

Follow their idea: “Who uses this room?” or “Where does that bridge go?” Let them move parts, explain rules, or leave the design exactly as it is. A tour is already a complete activity.

A little next step: invent one new visitor. A tiny mouse might need a door; a very tall giraffe might ask about the ceiling. Let your child decide whether to redesign or politely direct the giraffe elsewhere.

3. Give a dragon a very ordinary job

You need: only an idea. Paper is optional.

Begin: “A dragon has opened a bakery. What is the first thing on the menu?” Listen to the answer before adding another question.

Follow their idea: “Who is the first customer?” Perhaps the dragon accidentally toasts the order. Perhaps fire is exactly why everyone likes this bakery. A child can tell the story, draw it, or act it out.

A little next step: make a tiny menu together. Keep their names for the dishes. It can end after one item; the story does not need a perfect ending to have been worth telling.

4. Conduct the Quietly Peculiar Orchestra

You need: hands for gentle clapping, or pretend instruments. Keep the volume comfortable for everyone nearby.

Begin: “What would rain sound like if it were music?” Your child can tap fingers, hum, or simply describe a sound.

Follow their idea: invite them to conduct you. They choose when you start, when you stop, and whether the imaginary weather changes. A hand signal can mean quiet; a closed hand can mean stop.

A little next step: play a sound for a sleepy cloud or a dinosaur tiptoeing. If your child would rather listen than perform, take a turn yourself and let them name the scene.

5. Pack a suitcase for the moon

You need: an imaginary suitcase, a bag, or a drawing of one. Use ordinary safe objects suited to your child.

Begin: “What would you take on a pretend trip to the moon?” There can be room for a space helmet and a sandwich with a very important job.

Follow their idea: ask what each item does. A spoon might collect moon rocks in the story; a scarf might keep a friendly comet warm. If a real-world fact comes up and neither of you knows it, you can look it up together later.

A little next step: send an imaginary postcard home. One drawing and one sentence are plenty.

The part that makes it theirs

These are invitations, not a lesson plan or a test. Try one question, leave room for an answer, and let the child change direction. They can also say “not today.” Stop when the activity stops being enjoyable.

Wompy’s character is built around that same invitation: a curious little beginner and a big role for the child’s ideas. Wompy is available for preorder, and its conversation experience and companion app are complete. The website’s prewritten play is a separate activity to explore together now.