Repurposing Days

As I mentioned in a previous post about our new tradition of Repurposing Days, we've been bringing an object from home that is far from a 'toy' and reinventing it's purpose as a play thing. We're into our second week, and it seems to be hitting off well. It's a challenge for some of the children and their families as it's hard to look past the surface and find a new function for things. What I find makes this easier, is that I don't think too hard about it. That's the job of the children. There have been so many times that i've put something down in the classroom, not really to motivate the children to play with it, but often that item becomes such a big hit, that it's become a fixture in our classroom. For example, our dustpan has become many things in our classroom over the last year. So the trick is.... don't think too hard about it (as long as it's 'safe', it's a plaything ;))
But it's been fun so far. I've decided to hold off on the photos, until we have a little more experience under our belt, then we'll share what we've 'repurposed'!
In the ECE community we use terms such as loose parts, and open ended play, these are all ideas that build from the foundation that we are trying to achieve through the repurposing days. The hope is that children will start the revolution to look at an item and give it a new life. It's similar to the upcycling that people have taken to. Really it's not a new concept, but rather a bit of an endangered concept. So let's encourage those infants who go through the tupperware drawer!!!!

So with that in mind, I wanted to share a video with you. It's from two guys that I can't seem to get enough of these days. They are the 'Piano Guys'. Quite often we listen to their music at daycare, and the children love their music probably as much as I do. I wanted to share this video because they seem to get the whole point of repurposing! It's a new way to look at a piano, and look what they did with it! It's truly outstanding

Changing things up... again!

Okay children, your voices have been heard! The photo below is one of the very few times that the children actually played in the 'block room'. 

Before

The children tend to gravitate to the constructing materials, and really enjoy building and creating with the blocks and the cars, but quite often the entire room of materials gravitate towards the 'big room'. The children are most welcome to blend the materials together. The play that the children engage in when this happens is wonderful to see, and explodes into creative, open-ended, imaginative play. I love seeing the lightbulbs click, and the whole group engaging in play that was created right from their imaginations! So on that note, over the last few weeks I had been mulling over a major change in the environment. I had been observing, more and more, the children taking nearly every piece out of the block room into the big room and I wondered why. I had my theories, I thought it had something to do with the lack of natural light, and the lack of space. I asked the children in a group meeting last week, and I wasn't too far off the track. The children told me that they like playing near the windows (lack of natural light). They also told me that they didn't like it when others knocked over their towers (lack of space). SO, on Friday morning the children helped me move the block room into the big room. Since Friday, the centre has continued to transform to where it is now. I cannot wait to see the reaction of the children tomorrow! I'm interested to see how it flows and how it functions!

After- the block room is now an atelier (workshop of an artist), with a little more softened lighting. 

a little inspiration from Van Gogh and Monet, with space for the 'real artists' down below!

Before- this was our art space/ sensory/ eating area

after- Tinkering table

Block area (this was where our eating tables used to be). Lots of space to create, build, plan, and construct!

Murals hanging from the ceiling (it's double sided- well... two murals hung back to back), and some flowy material hanging from the ceiling.

Display shelf for all our creations

A table for illustrating plans/ clay table!

The environment has gone through changes over the last few months. It's important to listen to the children's voices, and to understand their needs. Because the children in this program are really into constructing and building, it is important for them to have the space to create! It is also important to give the children a change of scenery every once in a while. Our environment has undergone quite a few changes over the last few months, we are still new, so we still have bugs to work out! It's been a wonderful learning experience to learn from the children. The layout of the environment may work for the here and now because of the dynamics of the children, but come a few years down the road the dynamics of the children may change the environment again. It's all about listening to the children's needs!

Now it's time for bed... need to be ready to play!

Supplies, Supplies, Supplies!

I have had a great number of requests asking me 'what do you need' I have loved that everyone is so excited to help us out. We've welcomed generous donations of toys, and we're are ever so grateful, but now it's time to start thinking outside of the box. 

I am a great promoter of open-ended play, and play with loose parts. What does that mean? You ask a very interesting question. I have always wanted to incorporate this type of play in my program, and it's rather easy, and inexpensive, and ever so valuable. Open ended play involves things that have unlimited use. The are not necessarily 'toys', they are materials that seem perhaps out of place in a childcare facility, but promote interest and curiosity. They some with no directions, and can be used in many different ways and combined with other items of play. Loose parts have a similar purpose, and they are items that are not constructed together, but rather 'parts' that the children can put together, whether it be permanently or temporary. They are items that can be dragged or carried, taken apart, put together in an extensive amount of ways.  All these materials lead to open ended, curious play. Did you see the post on our blog where the children reenacted the ''Grinch Who Stole Christmas'? That is a great example of loose part and open ended play. Those parts, separately, could have lead to some entirely different play, but together as a whole they created a beautiful basis to an amazing insight into the children's imagination. 

So I am including a list of things that you and your family may want to start thinking about. We do not need it all at once, or right away, but if you are looking to get rid of anything like what is on our list, please send it our way, we would love it! Of course the loose parts are not limited to this list, and the list is by no means extensive, but rather to help you get an idea of where we are heading. 

Nature items:

• Plants

• Plant cuttings

• Pieces of wood ie: Twigs, Logs, Stumps, Tree Cookies (Tree Stumps cut into one inch 'cookies')

• Driftwood

• Branches cut into rounds to serve as blocks

• Beautiful pebbles, stones, rocks, geodes

• Shells

- Seed Pods

- Pallets

- Stumps

- Sand

- Gravel

- Balls

- Buckets

- Crates

- Rope

- Boxes

- Tires

Toward a Homey Environment

• Rocking chairs

• Big soft rugs

• Pillows

• Lamps

• Mirrors

• Small couch

• Children's chairs

• Children's books

• Fabric

• Curtains

• Beaded curtains

• Room dividers

• Cloth or paper fans

• Artifacts from other cultures and decades

• Boombox 

- Baskets

Materials for Creating

• Magazines with beautiful photos 

• Toilet and paper towel rolls

• Baby food jars, jam jars, canning jars

• Coffee cans 

- Fabric

- Tiles

- Wood Scraps

- Containers

- Wrapping paper 

- Old CD's (we may as well get these while we still can... they seem to becoming obsolete)

- old sewing patterns

- Ribbon

- Yarn

(there is also a great little store downtown that is my favourite place to shop called Urban Source http://www.urbansource.bc.ca/ if you're ever downtown and feel the need to pop in and pick up a bag of material for us, i'll reimburse you!!)

For Documentation

• Cameras

• Photo paper 

Of course all these items will need to have a home, so if one day you happen to spot a shed on the side of the road, or even a shelf or two (it's getting to be 'spring cleanup' time, and these might be on the curb), please feel free to call me and we'll jet out there with my dad's truck and pick it up.