Open-Ended Play : Cardboard Boxes

It doesn't get much better than a cardboard box for open ended play at any age.

Second video and image via the cardboard collective.

via exploratorium's cardboard institute of technology

magnets

I went on a little Goodwill shopping binge last night and spent $20.  That is a lot of stuff for the classroom!  Most of the $20 was spent on pots and pans for dramatic play (which I'll share more about soon), but I also spent 99 cents on something that proved to be engaging in a different way.

We have a large white board in our classroom - it used to be an elementary school classroom.  We have scribbled with marker and played with some random magnets on it, but this 99 cent "Monkey Puzzle" that I purchased drew children to the whiteboard.  Magnets were shifted constantly; no one was possessive about their creation after they left it, making this natural flow of work throughout the morning.  I would have loved to see a time lapse of the changes on the board - perhaps that will be for another day.  

How do we know what is going to be engaging for children?  What can I learn from this experience today?  How will the children feel about the magnets tomorrow, next week, in a month?

Pins and Paper

The writing I'm doing for Turtlewings does have me thinking about paper!  Old-fashioned clothespins and a long piece of lace were a prompt in the corner of the room last week.

I've been on a kick of planning prompts for this area of the room that change daily or every few days.  These prompts have been combinations of materials that I think the children might find interesting, and combinations that they may not have experienced together.  I'll make a point of taking photos of some of the prompts and sharing them here.

We are definitely interested in ripping and cutting paper, so we have amassed quite a pile of little paper bits.  And as interesting as gluing can be, the novelty wears off.  All of the children made attempts at pinning paper to the line; the ones who were independently successful stayed and added paper for longer periods of time.  I thought the lace would provide a more visual cue than string for this prompt, and the old fashioned clothes pins don't require any squeezing; they do require some thickness from the objects you're attempting to hold, though!

We may have more success with something like this against a wall, where the lace won't flip upside-down.  I think that the possibilities for pinning things to a line are endless!  As long as the materials are appealing and the children can do it with some independence, it can be engaging.

interlocking planks + independence

These interlocking planks are in another part of the building that I work in.  I can't help but wonder if children saw a pile of them with no prompt except the planks (not made into a house) would they make them into a house?  How much adult support would children need with a material like this?  How much "coaching" to make the pieces fit together?

I miss the hollow blocks.

a wipe-off board and a typewriter

More tools to encourage the exploration of writing through play, along with some of the things children are making with them.

I'm inspired by the post-it war in Paris.

I found the French site via lilla a, where the children are using post-its on windows, creating patterns and designs.  The material is open-ended if we think outside of the box and let children make the choices about how to use them.  That natural light of the window adds to the appeal, I think.

There is so much we can buy for children to use, and so many ways that they can be instructed to play. the simplest things go the distance, though.

Puzzles

Excellent puzzles found at Kid O.

Good design isn't just for adults. I'd love to have these guys in dramatic play, and perhaps they might drift into the book area to be read a book or two. I'm loving Donna Wilson's designs! I'm also picturing the children helping in the design of some furry classroom friends.

via ReForm School, designed by Donna Wilson