Tiny-Town Planners
A gentle, interest-led design project for Lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3-4)
About this project
Tiny-Town Planners is an 8-week project for learners in Lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3–4) who enjoy small-world play, drawing, building, or thinking carefully about how places work, and who need learning to feel calm, flexible, and low-pressure.
In this project, learners design a small town for tiny residents, such as toys, figurines, or simple characters they make themselves. They consider who lives there, what places are needed, how spaces connect, and how it feels to move through the town over time.
Rather than focusing on building a complete model, learners are invited to explore ideas through drawing, laying things out, moving pieces around, talking through choices, and making small changes as their thinking develops.
Some learners will design a whole town. Others will focus deeply on one place or one pathway. All approaches are fully supported.
How the project works
Tiny-Town Planners unfolds over 8 weeks.
Each week invites learners to:
think about who the town is for
identify places and how they are used
plan layouts and connections
explore movement, distance, and pathways
notice what feels comfortable, calm, or busy
revisit ideas and make small adjustments
Learning may happen through:
small-world play with toys or figurines
drawing, mapping, or sketching layouts
building or outlining spaces with everyday materials
floor-based or table-based layouts
conversation, explanation, and reflection
Some weeks may feel active and hands-on. Others may feel slower or more thoughtful. The project is designed to work with your learner’s interests, energy levels, and pace.
Who this project is for
Learners who need flexibility
This project is intentionally designed to balance structure with choice. There is:
no required final product
no expectation to complete every activity
no pressure to present or explain work
Learners can move at their own pace, pause when needed, or spend longer on areas of strong interest.
This makes it a supportive option for learners who are:
recovering from burnout
easily overwhelmed by demands
anxious about performance
more comfortable designing and making than writing
Learning can happen through play, design, and conversation, without needing to look “school-like”.
Learners with strong special interests
Tiny-Town Planners also offers depth for learners who love:
figurines, dolls, or LEGO-style characters
small-world or role-play games
maps, layouts, and spatial thinking
world-building or design
thinking carefully about comfort, care, and detail
Because learners design for characters they already care about, motivation often comes naturally. Spending several weeks focused on one place, pathway, or idea is welcome.
What’s included
Tiny-Town Planners includes:
Parent Guide
Clear weekly explanations, gentle scaffolding, neuro-affirming adjustments, and guidance for supporting hands-on learning without pressure or over-teaching.Student Guide
Written directly to your learner in calm, invitational language, with open-ended prompts, creative ideas, and genuine choice.Resource List
A simple list of everyday materials and optional resources. No special equipment or purchases required.Learning Log
Optional weekly templates for recording observations over time, even when learning looks informal or unfinished.
Areas of learning
Tiny-Town Planners supports learning across a range of subject areas, including:
Geography
Mathematics
English
Science
Health and wellbeing
Creative arts
Alignment focuses on opportunities for learning and exploration, rather than set tasks or fixed outcomes.
A creative project with room to explore
Tiny-Town Planners is deliberately designed to:
support thoughtful, hands-on learning without rushing
honour special interests and small-world play
allow learning to look different from week to week
help parents describe learning clearly, without changing how learning happens at home
It’s a calm, purposeful project - one that can pause, continue, or grow alongside your learner.
Become a Tiny-Town Planner
Download your Parent Guide, Student Guide, Resource List and Learning Log – everything you need to begin today.