Straws in the Block Center

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

Sometimes I like to experiment and just put different things in a center or activity...to see what the kids will do. Their imaginations and creativity seems boundless. 

One day I put straws in our blocks center. I didn't have a preconceived idea of what they would do. In fact I had just bought the straws on a whim. 

The kids played with them in different ways. They scooped them with the buckets I had there. They "poured out" the straws. They stacked them inside the buckets like pencils in a desk cup.

In another part of the center, one of my builders was creating an elaborate block structure. When the other kids left the center, he went over to the straws and began to play with them.

Then, slowly, he began to incorporate the straws in his structure.

He looked for just the right place to put the straws. Careful work and rearranging until everything was just right.

Repurposing can give us resources to use in different ways. Repurposing can trigger curiosity and creativity in the children we teach.