Friday, January 23, 2015

All Wrapped Up

Hi! It's Scott from Brick by Brick. I love to repurpose materials—use materials in ways different from their intended use.

Well, this time I'm using "repurpose" in a little different way. Recently I was reminded that kids can use materials in ways they were intended, materials that are usually not used by kids but by adults.

We had a "gift wrapping" experience recently in my class. Kids got to use tissue paper and clear tape. These materials are things I would use to wrap gifts myself.

Gift Wrapping (Brick by Brick)

Kids often do not get to explore these types of items. So, my kids wrapped and wrapped. They would bring me a "gift," I would unwrap and appreciate the gift, they would wrap it up again.

Gift Wrapping (Brick by Brick)

What did they wrap? Food boxes that had been stuffed with newspaper; a few wooden blocks; a couple of homemade Velcro blocks. You could give them whatever was on hand. 

Gift Wrapping (Brick by Brick)

I like using tissue paper because it is easier to fold and handle than wrapping paper. And it's much cheaper. (Don't use that expensive art tissue; get the gift wrap kind from the dollar store!)

Gift Wrapping (Brick by Brick)

You can save the tissue if you want for later collage projects. We just tossed it after our exploration was a wrap.

Think of ways you can give kids adult tools or materials that they can explore and use themselves. I posted about glue guns and staplers in the past. Kids could use screwdrivers or hand drills, mixing bowls and whisks, spray bottles and dish cloths. We have even used a drying rack when we washed our play dishes

Look around the house. Walk through the store. Kids love to use those adult materials. What can you explore?

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