Explorations offers children open-ended free play with responsive adults facilitating their work.

Why open-ended free play?

Explorations materials are chosen for their appeal and flexibility. Young children have active bodies and active imaginations. They like to move their bodies and move materials into sometimes unlikely combinations. Offering open-ended materials fuels children’s imaginations and speaks to their need to combine and rearrange.

There are many ways to use any one material. “Treasures” can be used for sorting, designing or for building. Large blocks can be a house, a store, an airplane. A piece of fabric can be worn, cover a table or serve as a ceiling. Open-ended materials are sometimes undefined and known only as “loose parts.” If they are inviting, children use them with imagination to work out their ideas, interests and questions. Some open- ended materials are common and familiar to children; some are less common and provide a surprise element. All hopefully are organized and displayed in a way that says, “Play with me—let’s explore, discover and create!!”