What?

What materials lend themselves to open-ended play? We have been collecting found materials and loose parts over the past 7 years, and we have a list of favorites. See below for ideas and suggestions:

Top 10 Materials

Nespresso Pods

Nespresso is committed to giving these capsules a second life, and so are we! You can send them back (use this link for more info) OR clean them yourself and start saving to use with your students at school or with your children at home.

IMG_2472 (1).jpeg

Champagne Cages

Champagne cages can be so inviting and engaging! Watch this short video from a virtual, preschool Play/Create/Build session to see how children might use them. Notice how one child’s idea is picked up by another and played out in a different way. When you have more than one of a specific material and you combine different collections together, that's when magic starts to happen...

Bottle Caps

Bottle caps with holes are wonderful because you can put things through them like twist ties or cable ties. (Just two quick notes: cable ties can be hard to collect, but they can easily be bought at a hardware store. Also, there are cable ties that lock and do not lock. Both work, but it’s good to know the options). As you can see in the photographs below, there is a very young child putting a cable tie through a hole. In another picture, we have third graders turning bottle caps into characters and creating a story.

Notebooks

Don’t throw out old notebooks of any kind! Date books, calendars, checkbook register, journals, etc. They are invaluable. First, go through and tear out any pages that have been written on. You can use the remaining sheets in writing centers, dramatic play areas, or anywhere else you might imagine. Children love to be able to write on “real life” objects. Note: If there isn’t any paper left, pull off the wire or plastic binding. It’s a wonderful material to play around with.