Keeping kids busy can be challenging. Often as adults, we find ourselves spending lots of time entertaining our kids or designing elaborate activities that we found on Instagram or Pinterest.
But what engages kids the most? Simple, open-ended play.
Play is how kids learn by making learning interactive, relevant, and driven by the curiosity and interests of the child. But that doesn’t mean that you need to rush out and buy all the newest latest, greatest educational toys.
When we think of play, we often think of toys, but kids don’t need toys in order to play. They’ll play with rocks, sticks, pots and pans, cardboard boxes, and whatever else they find. Kids need time, space, and open-ended materials. Open-ended play items aren’t overly specific, and there is no right or wrong way to play with them. Kids can use them in endless ways. Many “educational toys” that you might be tempted to buy are the opposite of this and limit play.
There are a lot of great opened-ended toys like sets of blocks, but you can also use things from around your house for play.
- Related: Try out some open-ended art ideas!
Here are 8 of our favorite open-end play activities using everyday items that you probably already have at home!
There are no worksheets, printables, or hours of DIY prep needed. Just simple open-ended activities designed to engage kids in play. Give kids space and unstructured free time. Once you’ve placed out the materials, step back and allow kids to use them however they’d like. Kids are more creative and capable than you might think.
1. Recycling Sculptures
What you need: clean items from your recycling, roll of blue painters tape
Recycling sculptures are an extra simple kids activity that can engage kids for hours! Fun fact: kids love tape and enjoy when they’re allowed to use as much of it as they like. We have started giving rolls of tape as birthday and Christmas presents.
Masking tape and blue painter’s tape are excellent options for kids because they’re easy to remove from the furniture. Avoid scotch tape. Simple place out tape and clean items from your recycling and let kids build and create whatever they’d like. It can be helpful to show kids how to rip the tape or provide them with a pair of kid-safe scissors.
You’ll be amazed at the things they can create, and the hours kids will happily work away. Once kids are done creating, you can admire the sculpture for a few days, allow kids to take photos, and then put it all right back into the recycling.
2. Blanket Forts
What you need: old sheets
Kids love to build forts using blankets and sheets, but it can be less than fun for parents when kids empty the linen closet and manage to unfold every blanket, sheet, and towel in the house.
Instead, you can place a few old sheets in a basket that kids can access. These can be the dedicated fort sheets. Kids can freely use these to do some building and then ball them up and place them in the basket when it’s time to clean up. No need to refold! Every once in a while, you can throw the sheets in with a load of laundry.
Kids love having their own special hangout place and enjoy playing, reading books, and hanging out together inside of a blanket fort. It’s a great way to engage them for hours!
3. Dress Up
What you need: old clothes and hats
Costumes can be a great addition to kids’ play but don’t feel like you need to rush to the Disney store and spend a bunch of money.
Next time you’re sorting through your closet, save some oversize shirts, ties, hats, scarves, and other fun clothing items for kids. Things like this aren’t overly specific and can be used by kids in many different ways. The costumes can be reimaged as something new every day. Also, it’s okay for these dress-up clothes to get dirty – play can get messy sometimes! This allows you to step back and let kids play freely.
Dress-up clothes can be put out in a bin or on hooks for kids to use whenever they’d like. Make sure to place out a manageable amount of things so that kids can clean them up when they’re done playing. Too many pieces will simple overwhelm kids.
Dress-up clothes will encourage lots of dramatic and imaginative play. Kids can pretend to be many different things and act out many situations. It’s a great activity for multiple kids to do together and helps build language and social skills.
4. Water Play
What you need: bowls, scoops, funnel, whisk, soap
Water play is extra simple but so engaging for kids. We have seen little ones pour and splash for hours on end.
Don’t worry if you don’t have a water table. Place a few bowls in the sink with water and some scoops. Allow kids to pour and splash. You can save scoops from protein powder, cleaning products, or other food items. Kids can pick out additional kitchen utensils to use. A turkey baster, whisk, funnel, and a hand crank egg beater can all be fun.
We love placing bowls in the kitchen sink so that the water stays fairly contained even as kids splash and play. Also, kids can turn on the water and refill as needed. Yes, some water might still end up on the floor, but it’s certainly less than if not using the sink. Enlist kids to help wipe up any spills when they’re done playing.
You can also whip some soap and some water in the blender to further add to water play.
5. Paper Ripping
What you need: newsprint, scrap paper, wrapping paper pieces
There is something exciting about ripping and tearing paper. Kids enjoy the feeling of the paper and the sounds it makes as it rips. It can be fun to crumple the paper and make a mess. Paper ripping is a fun activity that even babies can do.
Give kids a stack of paper and allow them to rip as much of it as they’d like – you might be surprised how busy newsprint can keep kids. It’s a great activity to use up any scrap paper you may have. Also, the pinching motion used to tear paper helps build hand muscles and fine motor skills – all the things needed to write!
It’ll make a bit of a mess but is easy to clean. Kids can pick up the pieces and place them into the recycling bin when they’re done or save them for another project. Ripped paper works well for collages, paper mache, or sticking to contact paper.
6. Ice Play
What you need: bowls, scoops, large blocks of ice, turkey baster, small toys
Ice is fun to play with because of how cold it feels, the sound it makes when it cracks, and how it changes as kids interact with it. You and your kids can pour water into various containers and place them in the freezer. We love using muffin tins and small toy animals.
Once frozen, place the ice blocks in bowls in the kitchen sink. Add scoops, a turkey baster, and some water, and allow kids to explore. Kids enjoy finding ways to “rescue” the animals from the ice. The kitchen sink provides the perfect place for scooping, splashing, and adding additional water.
Kids will learn about the phases of water through observation. They can learn new vocabulary words like solid, liquid, and melt, though it is more important to allow lots of uninterrupted playtimes than to give a lesson.
7. Rice Bin
What you need: plastic tub, rice, scoops
Take some rice, dump it in a tub, add some scoops, and just like that, you have a sensory bin and an open-ended play opportunity! Kids can scoop and pour to their heart’s content. We love that rice is smaller than dried beans and unable to get stuck in small noses or ears. Place a lid on the bin and store it when kids are done using it.
Scooping, pouring, and touching rice provides a lovely sensory experience for kids – they can feel it, smell it, and listen to the sound it makes. Manipulating small scoops helps kids to build fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination.
If you’re feeling fancy, you can dye the rice in different colors to make rainbow rice.
Word of caution: kids are pretty great at flinging the rice ALL OVER the place. Use a large container to help keep more rice from being dumped out. Have a small broom and dustpan handy, or take the bin outside. Or invest in a small handheld vacuum – rice makes a satisfying crunching sound when being sucked up, and we know a few kiddos who are big fans of using the vacuum.
8. Box Art
What you need: large cardboard box, crayons, markers, stickers
All kids love boxes! A box is the ULTIMATE open-ended toy and provides endless play opportunities.
Boxes are an excellent place for kids of all ages to do some art. Kids can climb inside with some crayons and markers and color all over. Babies can scribble, and you won’t have to worry about them coloring on the walls or furniture. Older kids can create full-on masterpieces that they continue to work on for days.
The box can be saved for additional projects or recycled when kids are done coloring.
Try setting up a few simple activities and see how they invite your kids into deep, open-ended play!
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