BBC Breakfast covered a story today of a Bristol nursery that has trialled replacing plastic, conventional toys with simple everyday objects and natural materials, in order to see what the results would be on their children’s play and behaviour. It was interesting and heartening to see a mainstream early years setting joining Waldorf, Reggio Emilia and other alternative educators in practicing this well-established method of developing creative thinking in young children…
Inspired by observations and experience in Waldorf kindergartens across the world and following my own independant research into the neuroscientific value of using every-day and natural objects for developing creativity, the provision of open-ended play materials is one of the key features of my early years parenting model. If ‘unformed’ play opportunities are offered to young children instead of fully-finished toys designed with only one use, the child can reap huge developmental benefits ( a toy plastic aeroplane with accompanying sounds for example, can only really be this…whereas a variety of interestingly shaped pieces of wood can be transformed in the mind of the child into anything from a aeroplane to a farmyard!). In the process of creation with the open-ended object, the player must engage their imagination to a greater degree in order to ‘make’ something different and fun from the item and in doing so, they automatically engage larger areas of their brain than they would playing with a fully-formed toy. Therefore, by giving our children less in material form, we are in fact giving them so much more. Most significantly, we are giving them the opportunity to ‘practice’ divergent thinking’ from an early stage of their brain development…and the more practice the brain has at any given task, the better it will become at doing it!
Utilising natural materials, rather than plastic in your child’s play space, as well as clearly being beneficial to the enviroment, has an entirely different value to his sensory development. The creation of a home area that is conducive to day dreaming (or mind wandering) is an important step towards opening up the imagination and ultimately forms an adult ability to think creatively. With this in mind, constructing what might be termed a ‘dream space’ in your house and/or garden for your children (and indeed for you!) is a fun thing to do, but will also support your child’s capacity to ‘think outside the box’.
Inspired by the beautiful interiors I experienced on a recent trip to Norway, as well as the gentle, natural surrounds of the Waldorf kindergarten, I have developed my own notion of what an ideal dream/ play space for children might be. The style has elements of ‘Nordic Zen’, embodying a Scandinavian sense of ‘Hygge’ in its calm and restful atmosphere. It encompasses both soft and cool pastels, natural textiles, gentle curves and living plants, accompanied by a carefully chosen selection of beautiful, simple, every-day objects and an interesting variety of open-ended play materials. If loving care and mindful preparation of these elements and of the space itself can also be carried out (check out the pretty word of Greek origin: ‘Meraki’), I anticipate that children will immediately begin to feel calmer and more nourished within, than if they play in ‘busier’, more regular ‘kiddies’ surroundings’, where brightly coloured plastic and attention-grabbing toys tend to overwhelm the room. Given a little time, children who reside in a softer, more natural play space will be inspired to draw upon their own imagination in a manner unseen in regular early years settings or homes full of conventional toys, and their imaginative play will become richer and deeper for it.
I hope through my articles, presentations and on-line posts, to expand on the neuroscientific and psychological explanations of why ‘clarity, order and beauty’ in the home environment, as well as the provision of simple, open-ended play materials, are such important elements in the life, growth and development of your child… meanwhile, take a peek at the BBC Breakfast’s coverage of the topic this morning…
Sarah x
Start the recording at 1.40.44 approx.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0008kcg/breakfast-20092019
