Open ended toys... say what, toys that open? Ok so this is a common term used by teachers, particularly preschool teachers but it should be a common term to everyone involved in play. These are not toys that open, well not literally open anyway but toys that open ones brain, imagination and creativity. Stay with me folks this is important!
Open ended toys = toys that can be anything. Easy right?? Hmm well let me give you some examples: rocks, sticks, blocks, jewels (one of my faves - these are the glass beads used for flower vases), scarves. With a little imagination all these items can be tons of different things. Neat hey?!
This was our shelf of open ended recycled items at the preschool I worked in. Mainly used for art and dramatic play set ups. The children often would help themselves and pretend the items where whatever they needed them to be - money, binoculars etc.
A set up that could be whatever you wanted it to be.
So what toys do toys that are not open ended look like? For Baby T's age group it is often the toys that have specific functions sometimes accompanied by lights and sound. The ones that you push buttons and things happen. So what if you push the red button and it says red in four different languages, it does not really engage the child beyond that. Others have a link to media and characters like Elmo - Elmo will always be Elmo it least once a child knows who Elmo is. As strange as it sounds Elmo has rules. Rules?? Well yes he is a defined character and try telling child who knows Elmo then tell them his name is Greg you will be met with 'no ELMO, ELMO, ELMO".
push a button something happens - nothing wrong with it but it's not open ended
For older children batman as lovely as he is he is not super open ended. Sure you can make up a million stories about him but there are rules about batman and these rules are often pretty strict when it comes to kids. Let me give you a few examples of batman rules: he is a man, he is strong, he is a 'good guy', he is fast, he always wins.... you see what I mean. Having said that as a parent you can help create a more open ended Batman play by getting involved with your kids play and breaking some of the 'rules' but often kids get a little upset when you 'break' the rules and they correct you.
So what is so great about toys that are open ended? For one they foster creativity. You have to come up with all the idea of what you are going to do with them, are their going to be rules, what are they etc. For the children who are playing together this requires dialog, communication often negotiation and other social interactions to explain what the items are and what you want to play. In the preschool I taught in there was never your typical 'toy food' in the dramatic play area, it was a mix of random things. The purpose in this was so children had to imagine what they were going to turn these items into (eggs, berries, a sandwich or perhaps it was not a kitchen and it was gold?) and even better they had to communicate this to their peers and have a dialog. I thought this was genius when my colleagues explained it to me and it was always funny to watch the expression of those who visited our school when they looked in our dramatic play corner filled with random things like plastic lids, bowls, pine cones etc.
Open ended toys are timeless, by this I mean you can play with them infinitely through childhood or beyond and they will always be interesting as they can be a zillion different things. So as a mom who lives in a small apartment, needs to work on a budget and who would prefer to have a few quality toys that can do a lot -this is were it's at!
There is nothing wrong with toys that are not open ended (hmm there might be ethical issues with some of them actually but they won't harm you! - I might get back to that another time, another blog post) but there is so much that is wonderful with toys that are open ended. I personally feel children lack open ended toys as they are not as flashy or gimmicky and often are not even viewed as toys.
I am working on a post about our favourite toys to hopefully bring to you soon!
