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Kids Play with Anything #21: Child’s Play with Recycled Materials

How can stuff in the recycling basket or box be more appealing than toys? Somehow, kids will play with anything including play with recycled materials.

Boxes, plastic containers, paper, cardboard rolls, cotton stuffing, coffee cups, foil pie tins, empty cartons, styrofoam trays, corks, and many other things are all treasures for kids and play. The ways kids play with recycled materials are as varied as all the stuff.

play with recycled materialsOne of the ways young toddlers play is by putting things inside each other. This might be a small plastic bottle in an empty cereal box which the toddler then dumps out. To a child, this is a game to do over and over. Kids might like to just line up items or to stack them. Egg cartons are useful for sorting.

play with recycled itemsA few jar lids make an intriguing sound for some sensory play when they are jiggled inside a coffee tin. Other objects may also be used to make shakers. Stuff in the recycling bin can be used to represent other items. For instance, assorted items might be money or food or candles. This is part of symbolic play.

recycled-learning-toolsPretend and imaginative play make good use of recycled materials. Little Sister set up a restaurant with plastic containers. Another day, she used similar items to create a grocery store.

play with recycled materialsIn addition to sensory and imaginary play, these materials are useful for crafts and art play. The sides of cereal boxes are usually blank and because they are stiffer, are great for painting. They don’t fall apart as easily as paper does when it gets wet. Cotton balls from bottles are fun to glue as snow or clouds, or pussy willows on a tree.

During play with recycled materials, kids are developing their creativity and imaginations. They are planning, problem-solving, exploring cause and effect, and strengthening brain muscles and body ones. Their play will be open-ended and self-directed because the materials do not limit and define how kids use them. These unlimited possibilities are an advantage over what we usually think of as toys. Do you have a bin of potential play for your child?

Play Activities

Kids Play with Anything #12: Child’s Play with Sand and Dirt

Sand and dirt. Play with sand and dirt is as old as… well, as old as the hills. Children’s play is sensory, exploratory, creative, and imaginary.play with sand and dirtOn the sensory level, our whole bodies feel the texture and temperature of sand and dirt. Unless some gets into footwear, clothing, and eyes our skin enjoys the touch, especially on a beach. A handful is almost as light as air, but a bucketful is dense and heavy. At first, the color seems all the same, but a second look reveals contours, dry and damp, or perhaps small stones and crawly critters. Smelling doesn’t come into play very much and adults try and discourage tasting, but there are sounds from actions like digging, dumping, patting, shoveling, climbing, and more.

nature play kids dirt pilesChildren explore sand and dirt over and over. They discover how it pours when dry and makes cone-shaped piles. When wet, they explore how to shape and build with it. It’s easy to hide things by burying them and hard to find them again. Kids can make marks in sand and dirt and use them as they play. To help with exploring and creating only takes a few simple items, like a stick, shovel, pail, sieve or sifter, and containers and spoons of various sizes and shapes.

play with sand and dirtAfter creating roads, castles, or whatever they choose, kids get to imagine. The cars and trucks might be driving in a new city. Dinosaurs may be roaming the earth. Pirates could be digging for treasure. Perhaps, fairies are moving into a new home or space creatures are invading.

play with sand and dirtDuring play with sand and dirt, not only are imaginations engaged, so are emotions. For a child, trying to make sand or dirt do what the child wants can be frustrating. Kids have to accept how dirt behaves and let go of or adapt their wants in order to enjoy it. Sand walls don’t protect castles from the tide.

play in sand and dirtFor kids, a hill of dirt or a beach of sand are pay dirt but neither of these needs to be in large amounts for play. A big bowl, plastic tub, old kiddie pool, large drawer, or old tire are possibilities for containers.

No matter how children play with sand and dirt, all the action isn’t on the outside. Inside, brains are problem-solving, observing, coordinating muscles to movement, comparing, measuring, and more. Filling up a bucket right to the top is goal-setting. 1,2,3—action. Ready for this play-of-the-day?

Play Activities

Kids Play with Anything #6: Play with Baking Soda and Vinegar

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Here’s a secret formula proving kids play with anything: Play with Baking Soda and Vinegar = Explosions of Fun. Sometimes called how to make volcanos. Baking soda and vinegar cannot be considered toys but they combine for some amazing play. They are inexpensive and affordable, but with all these ideas, you might need the extra economy size. Kids love to do this over and over.

play with baking soda and vinegarPlay clothes and newspaper are a good idea to protect tables. We used a big pan, but it wasn’t quite enough. Using plastic wine goblets, a bowl of vinegar, another of baking soda and some big spoons, Little Sister scooped some baking soda into a glass. Then she added a spoon of vinegar. Right away, bubbles started to form and grow in the glass. She wanted the fizz to go right over the top and spill out so added some more vinegar until they did. After a few times, there were puddles of soda and vinegar on the cookie sheet. The sensory play of spreading the puddles all around and feeling the solution with her hands and fingers appealed to her as much as the fizzing. Perhaps even more.

play with baking soda and vinegarAnother time, we first made a thick paste of baking soda and water. This was poured into ice cube trays and popped into the freezer overnight. The next day, both Big Sister and Little Sister each used an eye dropper to squirt vinegar onto one soda cube at a time. Again, there was lots of fizzing and bubbling all over a tray.

science color fizzy funThis activity can be done any time of the year and with children of various ages. It’s also good in emergencies, when you need little ones to play quietly in a small space. Too bad it’s not offered on airplanes, but it’s great to do in kitchens when we want to be able to watch kids while we’re busy. Try it with colored solutions of vinegar for a rainbow in a bowl. Use different kinds of squirters. Growing A Jeweled Rose has compiled over 50 ideas for play with baking soda and vinegar.

For childhood there is another formula. Play = Absolutely Necessary, Toys = Optional. Do you agree?

Sensory Activities

Leprechaun Sensory Play for Young Children

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Crafts and green snacks are not the only way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. For a play-of-the-day, here is an idea for leprechaun sensory play for kids. Leprechauns like gold and shiny things so we started the sensory play with a search thru the button box. Both Big Sister and Little Sister love to look … Continue reading Leprechaun Sensory Play for Young Children →

Sensory Activities

Dinosaurs, Letters, and Sand = Awesome Sensory Play

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Sensory play is one of the ways the brain uses to load information into its circuits. Dinosaurs, letters, and sand combine for some awesome sensory play. Not all children are particularly interested in letters, but dinosaurs and sand can turn learning into fun. While a whole sand box or sand table is wonderful, a bowl … Continue reading Dinosaurs, Letters, and Sand = Awesome Sensory Play →