A study I was recently reading from Stanford looked at two groups of children-- one group that came from homes with more open ended play vs kids who came from homes with more structured toys. They presented the children to a new environment with various open ended toys and found that the children who came from homes with open ended toys began playing within seconds. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

As I sit here writing this and observing my youngest...Play begins as exploration, they orient themselves to the environment, they go back several times between myself and the toys, they ask what are my resources, what interests me, they create a plan, they ask how do I use these toys, and then play begins!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Did you ever wonder why kids squat so much? It is because they don't want to settle into their play until they are truly ready. The squat has a purpose. It allows them to get up and go freely and easily. You will notice that once they sit down, they are ready to engage utilizing focus and attention. This is the start of developing skills needed for school. Allowing them the time and ability to focus on an activity at this young of an age helps set them up for success in the future. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Also it is never too late to start this journey of open ended play. If you are interested in starting this with your older kids let me know below and I will walk you through it. ⬇️⬇️

What do you observe your kids doing? Do you sit and just watch? Do you notice any patterns? What do they like to do??