Friday: Play!—Bag of Natural Materials

Another great idea I got from reading The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule was the importance of Toys From Natural Materials, more specifically the idea of a bag for young toddlers to explore with.

She suggests having a fabric basket full of scraps of many different textiles and colors for them to feel and play with. She also suggests yarn, string, wood “blocks” from nature and the “earth’s gifts” (rocks, shells, acorns and pinecones).

Of course depending on the age of your children you would want to gather things that they would be safe playing with, supervise them well when they are playing with something that could potentially be dangerous if left alone with it (my kids put EVERYTHING in their mouths) and make sure things are fairly clean.

So I gave it a try, I found this beautifully colored silk bag my sister had bought me from Thailand, filled it with feathers, yarn, other fabrics my sister had picked up in Thailand. We still have to collect some things from nature but I have to tell you it is a big hit. My girls will play with the things in there (especially the yarn) for a good hour.  

So simple and more importantly free! Have I mentioned already how much I really enjoyed this book?

Try it out, have your kids help you put together a bag.

Tags: amanda blake soule, bag of natural materials, creative family, friday, nature play, play!

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