Natural & Open-Ended Resources

How many times have you set out resources for your kids to use, and they haven't used them according to your expectations? How often do we see educational toys that are designed with only one use in mind? Pirate ship play-grounds can be exciting and look really neat, but they limit the type of play that can occur. A pirate ship play-ground will ultimately result in pirate play. There's nothing wrong with pretending to be a pirate. I can "yar me harty" with the best of them. But as educators, we should be encouraging children's natural curiosity, creativity, and need to explore, and one of the best ways we can nurture that is through open-ended resources.

With open-ended or natural materials, children can explore, create, imagine, and learn through play without the resource dictating what their play should be. I'm always surprised at what children's imaginations come up with; it's often not at all what you intended, and that's okay!

After a short "stick safety" chat, the children had free reign of our collection of sticks, branches, driftwood, and medallions. Someone discovered the flower box and decided to add a floral finishing touch to their creation.

Sadly, children don't always have the opportunity to use their imaginations in their play. With video games, computers, and ready-made toys, children have all the heavy lifting done for them.

With natural and open-ended materials, children can do the heavy lifting all on their own.

Or with a little help from a friend.