Playful Parenting Tip #3 - Junk and Nature Toys

In December, I wrote about how unstructured play makes kids happy. Each Tuesday in the next two months, I will be sharing how I encourage unstructured play in our home. This week's playful parenting tip is to allow children to play with junk and items from nature.

Last Tuesday I shared how toys help children tell stories, and this supports children during unstructured, imaginative play.  I find that my daughter utilizes junk in her play as much as her store bought toys. Junk is anything that may have ended up in a trash or recycle bin, but my daughter has rescued it for a better purpose.  When she is outside, items such as sticks, rocks and water are essential tools to her play.   Both junk and nature finds allow her to engage in abstract thinking by imagining these objects are something different.

For this installation of Playful Parenting, I documented through photographs how my daughter incorporated junk and nature into unstructured play over the course of the weekend.  Hopefully, you will see the endless possibilities that come by allowing a little more junk into your playful lives.





























Sometimes a stick is not a stick, and sometimes a rope is a
And it's all good for unstructured play!
I know playing with junk makes some worry about having a messy house, but I assure you we live in a pretty neat and clean home (most of the time) even with junky play.  Next week I will be sharing ways to organize your kids' toys to help keep the mess a little more manageable.