• in nature - simply by going to woods, beaches and gardens 
• asking parents to bring in materials from home 
• by recycling in the setting
  
• by joining a recycling centre where businesses bring end-of-use or by-products.
  

 Children love open-ended materials because of the possibilities they afford them. Using open-ended materials encourages imagination, creativity and problem-solving skills so play can be richer and more complex. This kind of play ensures rich learning and is fun! For example, the use of open-ended materials supports children’s role as scientists who are constantly conducting experiments, testing ideas, and building their understanding of the world. As children play with the materials, they are exploring what happens, coming up with new ways of manipulating the materials, deciding that one material can symbolise something else and using lots of language. This type of play is openended and builds creative thinking.

Using open-ended materials gives children the freedom to choose and create, developing confidence and competence. Access to sticky-tape, scissors, paint, paper and glue extends creative opportunities for older toddlers and young children. A simple length of fabric can be a river, a cloak, a table cloth, a blanket, part of a den or even something else! Open-ended materials are suitable for use by all children as they will manipulate and use them according to their stage of development.

The role of the teacher is to prepare the environment with lots of safe, challenging, open-ended materials. Occasionally the teacher may need to model or suggest how materials might be used, without telling children what to do. A key part of the teacher is to observe and document what is happening/what children are learning and to plan to support and extend that learning in other ways.

Safety precautions 

Keep materials clean, well-maintained and replace as needed. Be aware of any allergies that children may have and avoid using openended materials if they are linked to allergens, for example, milk cartons or materials that may have been in contact with nuts. Also with babies and toddlers be mindful of materials that might pose a choking hazard!

• Ask children to bring clean paper and plastic milk cartons. Collect all clean material in a box. Make sure that you have a lot of cartons !!
• Engage with students in an investigation of animals in their lives. What types of animals have they seen? How many legs did each have? How many eyes? Did these animals have fur? What colors were the animals? Where did they live?
•  Let students know that they will be re-creating an animal using recycled materials. Share with students the elements of art: line, shape, form, color, and texture in preparation for their art experience.
•  Students work in small groups and select a variety of the collected recycled materials to make their animal creations. Encourage students to talk about how they are combining their materials to make creations. Use glue or rubber band or adhesive tape to attach parts to the creatures. Use markers to add features to the creatures.
•  Provide students the opportunity to present their creatures to classmates, sharing what details they used and why for each animal.
• Take pictures of the creates and create a poster !