Open Ended Play Ideas for Children
There are a few parenting ideas, mantras, and philosophies that I follow and one of them is a concept called open ended play. Open ended play encourages and supports children to be able to properly engage with their toys in a meaningful and long term way, it’s something that I love to see Peggy experiencing.
Peggy sat on her wobble board, a great open-ended toy with so many uses.
Seeing as we’re all spending a lot more time in our homes right now these open-ended play ideas will really keep boredom at bay and give parents some time to make a cuppa and just enjoy watching their children play independently for a while.
Rather than always purchasing toys that have boundaries or an end goal, open ended toys will keep your child busy for hours and also grow with them. Sitting with play dough, blocks, and a treasure basket full of interesting items really engage children and encourage experimentation. Here are my top open ended play ideas.
Stacking cups - My mum bought Peggy a set of stacking cups when she was six months old and now she’s 18 months she still plays with them every day in the bath, they have so many uses. Pretending to make special drinks in them is a new favourite for Peggy!
Wooden blocks - An absolute classic that will last for generations. Stack them, build towns, organise them by colour, and use them for counting.
Pikler triangle - Basically and indoor climbing frame. These really help with gross motor skills and are perfect for children who love to climb or make dens.
Balance / wobble board - This toy has so many uses. We were recently given one from a shop called Pom Pom and Peggy loves it. We use it as a bench, a mini see-saw, a ramp, a bridge, a rocking chair, to practice balancing, and we can also hook it onto her Pikler triangle.
Toy animals - We started a collection of plastic and wooden animals for her 1st birthday, they are great for imaginary play but Peggy has thrived when using them to learn about animal names and noises too.
Treasure baskets - Just a small basket or box full of random items! These can be swapped out to match the stage your baby is at but a good starting point is pinecones, brushes, spoons, scoops, dried slices of orange, pretty shells, you get the idea!
Play-dough - A no brainer! We get the play-dough out most weeks. Peggy loves opening and closing the tubs and learning about the colours. She’s too young to build anything yet but the texture is a good sensory activity.
Crayons and paints - Buy a selection of mark-making materials and let your little one explore them all. I love paint sticks as the mess is quite minimal.
Peg dolls or wooden dolls - Peggy really loves playing with her wooden dolls in the cardboard dolls house I made her out of recycling (you can see that here on my Instagram). I’ve recently bought some peg dolls which I’ll paint different colours for her.
Bucket, spade, and watering can - Something you can use in the bath, in the garden, on the beach, and even inside with homemade moon sand/ moon dough (recipe here). You may want to purchase a splash mat for indoor play.
Recycling - Let your baby or child explore the recycling box! Remove any unsafe and sharp items and let them go to town. I actually made Peggy a busy board out of recycling that you can see right here. She loved it!
Stacking rainbow / other stacking toy - The classic stacking rainbow can be transformed into so many shapes. Any wooden stacking toy is a great option and even older children will have fun getting creative with what they can make with them.
Play food - Wooden play food will last for so long. Learn the colours, shapes, and names, play shops, chefs, and cafes with them.
Balls - Some soft and easy to bounce balls will help your baby and toddler develop their gross and fine motor skills. Once they’re older you can play “toss the ball in the basket” and catch indoors or out. Even better if they light up or glow in the dark!
Household items - Still a classic in our household and a sanity saver when I’m trying to cook! We practice “freedom with limits” with Peggy so she is allowed to explore most cupboards in the kitchen as long as we’re there to supervise. She LOVES the crockery cupboard at the mo.
Water and bubbles - I recently made a tap extender out of a plastic milk bottle for the kitchen sink and now Peggy can have a lot of splashy play without needing to learn right over. Bubbles are another favourite. Most young kids just love playing with water!
The toys I’ve chosen above show a wonderful selection of plastic free toys which are perfect for open-ended play. All these toys and craft supplies are from a wonderful independent shop called Pom Pom. When I first moved to London I worked in a lovely toy shop and I remember how popular the classic, open ended play toys were with the children who came in. Classics never go out of style!
I really hope you enjoyed that blog post and the ideas I’ve shared are useful and inspiring for you, have fun! If you want to see more ideas of how I set up independent play spaces for Peggy do follow me on Instagram as I share lots of her toys in my Stories every day.
Hi I'm Nancy!
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