I’m always looking for ways to create opportunities for open-ended play at my library (see my November post: Creating Playful Opportunities @ Your Library that focused on outdoor play.) Each month we offer Young Artists at Play for ages 2-5 where we provide a different creative medium for children to explore. The focus is on process rather than a product as much as possible, often choosing collaborative projects rather than an individual piece to take home. Many of these programs were inspired by the Making Art Together section of the Eric Carle Museum website, which is a wonderful resource! These programs are generally easy to prepare for; not requiring a lot of staff time and not expensive, as they often utilize materials on hand, leftovers from other programs, and everyday items (great for reusing/recycling!). Here are a few of our most successful programs.
Cardboard Creations: Our branch also houses the Technical Services department, which means we have ready access to cardboard boxes. We also have a set of Makedo tools shared by our libraries – these include kid-safe cardboard saws, screws and screwdrivers. We provided cardboard boxes, precut a few openings to be windows or doors, Makedo tools, and markers. Kids were very engaged, some with the process of making, and others were quite content with using the screwdriver to fasten the screws (exercising those fine motor skills) as depicted in the photo below.
Collage/Sticker Fun: For this program we gathered a variety of stickers, including a bunch of dot stickers no longer needed for labelling, foam stickers, etc. We also cut different shapes from patterned scrapbook paper that had been donated and provided glue sticks. We covered a small table in black and white paper, as well as the floor underneath, for our creative surface. Peeling stickers is both fun and strength building for little fingers. Some kids placed stickers at random, and others made things (like flowers or faces) out of the shapes. They experimented with the black and white surfaces: what happens if you put this sticker on white? On black? Kids enjoyed figuring out that some stickers “disappeared,” as when white is put on white, for example. Another said “this is the best day ever” and described the art project as “spectacular.” Her mother noted that she is in a Fancy Nancy phase right now and enjoys using big words. Other children enjoyed creating on the floor!
Bubble Wrap: We always save bubble wrap! For this program, we taped bubble wrap to the windows and the floor, and also used bubble wrap stamps to paint. The stamps were made by attaching bubble wrap to the bottoms of various size plastic yogurt containers, easy for little hands to grasp. The floor bubble wrap was fun for kids to stomp on – lots of hopping that day, and yes, it was loud (a sensory experience!) The window bubble wrap required more finger strength to pop. This program required a bit more time for the initial setup, but we were surprised by how long the bubble wrap held out (meaning, continued to pop). It also was engaging for a wide age range of children, from babies to early elementary age.
What kinds of open-ended art or play programs do you provide? Please share!
Robin L. Gibson is the Manager of the Northwest Branch and Early Literacy Center of the Fairfield County District Library in Carroll, Ohio and is a member of the Early Childhood Programs and Services Committee.
All photos by Robin L. Gibson, ALSC member, and staff of the Northwest Branch library.