Mirror and Light Play for Kids: D.I.Y Sparkly Reflective Mirror Building Platforms
- Danica - Our Playful Learning Journey
- Aug 6
- 5 min read
See how these reflective circles make a beautiful addition to any loose parts play collection. Perfect for the exploring the ✨MAGIC ✨ of light and reflections!
I'm really excited to share this easy D.I.Y. project with you today as it really makes for the most beautiful play and exploration of light and reflections!
We have had a great time over the last week exploring the potential of these new loose parts for mirror and light play.
Today's loose parts play project was inspired by Mulberry House Playschool on Instagram @mulberry_house_playschool who made reflective rectangle building platforms using mirror like contact paper. If you aren't already following along - the most beautiful ideas are shared from the playschool including loose parts play, sensory play, creativity and a Reggio inspired environment. It is absolutely amazing and so inspiring!
So funny story - I actually didn't set out to make these as a D.I.Y. loose part.
I had bought the mirror reflective roll from Kmart (Australia) with the plan to try and make a D.I.Y. tri-fold mirror with photo frames and hinges. I wanted to see if the mirror roll would work instead of acrylic mirrors. But.... it didn't at all because the mirror reflections are very blurry and not at all what I was looking for!
Luckily I had seen the reflective mirror rectangle building boards earlier in the day on the Mulberry Playschool page - so I knew exactly what I would try and make with my mirror roll! No need for it to go to waste.
I already had wooden circle placemats and coasters from years ago in my art cupboard waiting for the perfect project. These can easily be found from craft stores (Spotlight) and even Bunnings Australia in the craft section. Officeworks also sells some - I ended up getting some plywood square coasters online from them to make some more reflective building platforms for play!
*Important: The mirror and light play ideas for kids shown here are for children ages 3 and over. Adult supervision is recommended at all times. It is your responsibility to determine the suitability of these play ideas/materials for your child. Please inspect all loose parts before use and discard of any pieces that are broken or unsafe.
*Tip - If using these with sunlight/torchlight make sure to remind children not to shine the light into people's eyes as it can be very bright!
How to make the Sparkly Reflective Mirror Building Platforms
What we used:
Wooden circle placemats
Wooden circle coasters
Cardboard circles (from a thick cardboard box - not as sturdy as the wooden ones, but still work okay for building)
Mirror roll - Removable Mirror Window Film from Kmart (on clearance) - please note that it is not adhesive so you will need to use glue. *If you can find the contact paper version of this mirror reflective surface - I would recommend trying that over what I used as it would stick better.
Glue (I just used a glue stick, but will try out PVA glue next time as I think it will work better!)
Steps to make:
Using a pencil, trace around the shape of your placemat/coaster onto the back of the mirror paper.
Cut out the shape.
Apply glue to the surface of the placemat/coaster/cardboard circle.
Remove the backing film off the reflective mirror window film and carefully glue down to the placemat/coaster. Smooth out any bumps. (Note: ours ended up with quite a few bumps, but they are still fun to play with and look great in the light).
Trim any excess and leave to dry.
Repeat with different shapes and sizes to add extra fun and interest to your building materials!
Ideas for Mirror and Light Play for Kids
Play ideas using the reflective mirror building platforms
Here is a video of our new mirror building platforms being used with one mirror reflecting the sunlight coming through the window. It looked amazing! Sunglasses may be a good idea for this one as it was really bright.
Dino Tower
This was a beautiful creation by one of my kids after school one day. It was very special to watch her completely immersed in the creation of this building!
Materials used:
Tickit rainbow see through blocks
Dinosaur fossil figurines (bought from Discount Party Supplies (Australia) online)
Mirror building boards
Lucite rectangles
Here is a short clip of the dino tower:
Tower building
We've had lots of towers built using our new mirror platforms. They look really nice when paired with the lucite rectangles.
So much learning through play was happening here - how to keep the tower stable, building it straight, problem solving when it was leaning on an angle, critical thinking about which pieces to place where, persistence + so much more.
With other loose parts
These building platforms also pair really well with little loose parts such as buttons, jewels and gems. The D.I.Y. gem and rainbow wood slices that I made previously (you can read the blog post here) work well too for decorating and making mandala like creations.
They can be build up high using blocks or just single layered and decorated on the ground/table. There are many different options for how to play/create!
The flower tray our loose parts are in is from Modern Teaching Aids (called 'flower sorting tray'). I bought it years ago and it's perfect for sorting materials by colour or type.
Mirror and Light Play for Kids:
D.I.Y Sparkly Reflective Mirror Building Platforms
These were such a simple thing to make, but are a fantastic materials for not only making magical builds, but for inviting wonder, awe and curiosity as children explore how the mirrored surfaces work with other materials and light.
What started as something not working, actually turned into something beautiful for play.
I'm excited to see what else my kids create with these reflective building platforms as they use them with other open-ended materials to play and create!
What do you think? Would you give making these a go?
💌 Share this blog post with someone else that might like to try this easy D.I.Y.
Until next time, let's make learning fun and playful!
Danica
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