All I Want for Christmas Are Open-Ended Materials: Said No Child Ever
Ah, the smell of Christmas trees, the warmth of hot chocolate, and commercial after commercial for more and more battery operated toys is upon us! It's the season for "I want, I want, I want" to echo throughout homes and classrooms. It's also time to make those ubiquitous paper Christmas stockings using glitter and cotton balls, but that's already been discussed in another blog post, as you may recall.
I wonder how many parents of young children and teachers of young children are hearing, "You know, I think I would just like to use my imagination more and get a big stack of open-ended materials to play with this Christmas. Forget the Zoomer Chimp, the Nerf N Strike Drone Blaster, the Dance and Move Bow Wow, and the PlayStation to name a few and just get me some good old wooden blocks and a set of markers."
In this post, I want to "enlighten" parents and teachers about open-ended materials and play, so let's begin with a definition of open-ended. Open-ended means not having a fixed answer, it is unrestricted. The children themselves decide what to do, how to do it, and what to use.
Open-ended materials :
- Allow children to use their imagination and creativity.
- Help develop trial and error and problem solving skills.
- Allow children to have no fear of doing it wrong since there is no right method or outcome.
- Give children a sense of freedom and self-confidence.
- Require children to make their own choices and learn to be responsible and self-directed.
Now that you are armed with all this information, it is time for a very simple quiz. See how many open-ended materials you can find in the following list:
Blocks
Paints
Crayons, Markers, Paper
Magna Tiles
Legos
Sand and Water
Rocks and Shells
Play dough
Pipe cleaners
Cardboard tubes
Ribbon
Boxes of different sizes
PVC pipe
Old costume jewelry
Wood scraps
Wine corks
String
Tape
Beads
Nuts and bolts
Paper bags
Plastic bottles
The answer is all of the above. If you recall, I said it was very simple.
Now you might be thinking, "What the heck? Am I suppose to give my little darling a box of rocks for Christmas?" That, of course, is up to you. All I'm asking is for you to consider the important skills that are developed when children use open-ended materials for play. I am also asking that you try to achieve a balance between these types of materials and the glitzy, glamorous ones that are prevalent this time of year.
If you decide you want to provide more open-ended materials for children to play with either at home or in your classroom and you are wondering how to go about picking them out, just remember:
If it has batteries it is not open-ended!
If it has only one way to go together, it is not open-ended!
If all the child has to do is sit there and look at it, it is not open-ended!
And if all it takes to work is the push of a button, it is not open-ended!
If you think about it, this may also give you some insight as to why young children put aside all the new toys under the Christmas tree and play with the empty boxes all afternoon. I'm just sayin'.
That's it for now.
Check back later!
I wonder how many parents of young children and teachers of young children are hearing, "You know, I think I would just like to use my imagination more and get a big stack of open-ended materials to play with this Christmas. Forget the Zoomer Chimp, the Nerf N Strike Drone Blaster, the Dance and Move Bow Wow, and the PlayStation to name a few and just get me some good old wooden blocks and a set of markers."
In this post, I want to "enlighten" parents and teachers about open-ended materials and play, so let's begin with a definition of open-ended. Open-ended means not having a fixed answer, it is unrestricted. The children themselves decide what to do, how to do it, and what to use.
Open-ended materials :
- Allow children to use their imagination and creativity.
- Help develop trial and error and problem solving skills.
- Allow children to have no fear of doing it wrong since there is no right method or outcome.
- Give children a sense of freedom and self-confidence.
- Require children to make their own choices and learn to be responsible and self-directed.
Now that you are armed with all this information, it is time for a very simple quiz. See how many open-ended materials you can find in the following list:
Blocks
Paints
Crayons, Markers, Paper
Magna Tiles
Legos
Sand and Water
Rocks and Shells
Play dough
Pipe cleaners
Cardboard tubes
Ribbon
Boxes of different sizes
PVC pipe
Old costume jewelry
Wood scraps
Wine corks
String
Tape
Beads
Nuts and bolts
Paper bags
Plastic bottles
The answer is all of the above. If you recall, I said it was very simple.
Now you might be thinking, "What the heck? Am I suppose to give my little darling a box of rocks for Christmas?" That, of course, is up to you. All I'm asking is for you to consider the important skills that are developed when children use open-ended materials for play. I am also asking that you try to achieve a balance between these types of materials and the glitzy, glamorous ones that are prevalent this time of year.
If you decide you want to provide more open-ended materials for children to play with either at home or in your classroom and you are wondering how to go about picking them out, just remember:
If it has batteries it is not open-ended!
If it has only one way to go together, it is not open-ended!
If all the child has to do is sit there and look at it, it is not open-ended!
And if all it takes to work is the push of a button, it is not open-ended!
If you think about it, this may also give you some insight as to why young children put aside all the new toys under the Christmas tree and play with the empty boxes all afternoon. I'm just sayin'.
That's it for now.
Check back later!
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