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open-ended materials

Large materials - Wooden and plastic cable spools, a wooden plank with holes

Children have the right to intelligent materials. Open-ended materials elicit joy, surprise, inquisitiveness and engage children in intellectual risk. They offer the opportunity for children to direct their own play and in creative ways.

A child (legs are visible) tries out an obstacle course made with tyres, planks of wood and palettes
When children have access to a variety of materials with different properties including size, shape, weight, quantity, this can open up opportunities for more complex play. 

demolishing

The Open-ended materials book, displayed with objects - a yellow plastic tube, CD, cardboard box, bubble wrap, rope.

stacking

The cover and open spread of Open-ended materials. Content is: Turning it into process, stack, sequence, balance, design...

Take a peek inside

references

  1. Kiewra, C., & Veselack, E. (2016). Playing with nature: Supporting preschoolers’ creativity in natural outdoor classrooms. International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education, 4(1), P. 75
     

  2. Nina Odegard (2012) When matter comes to matter – working pedagogically with junk materials. Education Inquiry, 3:3.P. 393
     

  3. Nicholson, S. (1971). How NOT to Cheat Children: The Theory of Loose Parts. Landscape Architecture, 62, 30-34. Accessed 03/01/24 at: https:// media.kaboom.org/docs/documents/pdf/ip/ Imagination-Playground-Theory-of-Loose- Parts-Simon-Nicholson.pdf
     

  4. Penfold, L. 2019, Material Matters in Children’s Creative Learning. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0). P.3
     

  5. Daly, L & Beloglovsky, M. (2020). Loose Parts, Inspiring 21st Century Learning. Redleaf Press. P.232
     

  6. Woodford as cited in Moy, A. (2023). Explainer – Working multimodally. JoCAT, 18(2). https://www.jocat-online.org/e-23-moy

Containers of small materials - bottle caps, plastic coated wire, paint and textile samples

The Creative Collection is an invaluable resource for educators seeking to enhance their understanding and practice of visual arts in early childhood education. As a long-term early childhood visual arts advocate, researcher and teacher, I celebrate resources that will empower educators to build their visual arts confidence and knowledge.

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DR. GAI LINDSAY

SENIOR LECTURER, B.ED - THE EARLY YEARS. UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG

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