How to set-up a creative learning space in no time

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Creativity and solution-finding skills are amongst the most important 21st century skills. With information being accessible almost everywhere, our children will have to learn how to make sense of this overflow of information and how to find new solutions for the multitude of challenges that will await future generations.

We can, and I believe we actually should, encourage our children already at toddler and preschool age to explore and further develop their creativity. As such they start developing the ability to come up with innovations and solutions from very early on. At the same time, creativity helps children to learn how to learn and prepares them for their start at school.

Encouraging your child to play and craft with natural and recycled materials at home can be super easy and does not need a lot of preparation and materials.

It only needs:

  • Some basic materials to have readily available
  • A creative learning area where your child can access loose parts and some of the materials to build, craft and play with

1. Your basic list of materials

With this minimal list of materials, you can create amazing play and learning opportunities.

These are my 10 favorite materials I would recommend for every family to have ready at hand.

  1. Cardboard (big boxes, cereal boxes, smaller boxes)

  2. Toilet Paper rolls

  3. Little plastic pots, such as yoghurt pots or jam jars

  4. Wool or yarn

  5. Small bags with beans, peas, rice or similar.

  6. Rests of fancy paper and clothes

  7. Buttons

  8. Food coloring

  9. Paper (white and colored)

  10. A set of crayons, pencils, watercolor and paint

Fresh extras if you go on a walk: flowers, leaves, small sticks, pebbles, feathers, etc.

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2. Your creative learning area – How to make those materials available

Loose parts are a fantastic opportunity for children to develop their creativity. Loose parts are also a great way to help children take initiative and find creative activities when they are bored.

But too much can also overwhelm your child and quickly become very messy. So, depending on the age of your child, you can make a limited number of items available to your child.
Again, less is more and safety first. Choose items that you are comfortable for your child to play with and handle on their own.

Here are 3 ways you can create a creative learning area in not more than 15min.

 

Option 1 > A space in a shelf

If you have the space, I would recommend displaying some of the materials on a shelf. Especially for smaller children it is most inspiring and inviting to see the materials displayed. It does not need to be a lot, 3-4 basic materials being displayed is fully sufficient. You can always rotate them if you see your child is not interested.

Use empty marmalade jars, cardboard boxes or baskets to store and display the materials.

You can still keep some of the materials that your child should only access under your supervision or at special moments in a separate closed space.

Option 2 > Creative learning box

If you lack space or you have a variety of recycled items available, a box or several boxes might be a good solution. You could use one big cardboard box to store different recycled materials.

Small boxes (ideally transparent ones if you have) can be used to store smaller items (one for colors, one for wool and yarn, one for natural materials, etc.). Boxes have the big advantage that you can store and move them as needed and as you have space.

Option 3 > The portable creativity bag

Create a little magic around creative activities with loose parts by using a cotton bag. It then becomes a surprise for your child to open and explore the bag.

Put in this bag a variety of materials for your child to discover and use. These can be some special materials you found during a trip or a nature walk as well as some basic crafting materials such as pencils, a scissor, scotch or glue stick. Rotate the materials in the bag on a regular basis and stuff it with interesting materials as you or your child find them.

A creativity bag is a perfect take-along when taking your child to the restaurant or on a rainy day  when your child is getting bored. Take out the bag and your child will be occupied for a while.

You still have questions and would like to learn more about creative play and learning ?

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