Being resourceful with resources

We often underestimate children’s ability to imagine… and our own ability to be creative. When planning each day we instinctively know how important our resources are in inspiring children, but do they have to be ‘real’, taking an investment of either time or money to make or source? Identifying, locating, creating, or obtaining resources can sometimes be a monumental effort, but perhaps there is another option. Every environment is chock-a-block with existing resources that, with just a little imagination, can be repurposed and reused.

Not only can such an approach benefit us, it also helps us model to our children how to be creative thinkers. In general, having open-ended resources promotes imagination and the characteristics of effective learning.