8 Great Chanukah Activities: Day 4 Chanukah Loose Parts Tinker Lab

Every year, Chanukah brings forth an abundance of projects and artwork. We proudly display new creations each year and even some old favorites. If you teach preschool, it's a holiday heavy in teacher handiwork. And did I mention the Mod Podge? I think that aroma is second only to the smell of stale latke oil in eliciting memories of Chanukahs' past... S loves making projects in school and feels proud when he brings them home, but I also know that this style of artwork is not necessarily his favorite. As an early childhood educator and a mom, it's not necessarily my favorite either (though I do share in S's pride over his learning and schoolwork). I tend to hang up and display those one color doodles just as proudly as the craft kit posters and greeting cards because they come with a story personal and unique to S, a creation completely his own.


Earlier last week, I set out my Chanukah Counting Soup game for the boys to play. Y is still rather young to follow recipe cards, but loves practicing with the giant tweezers and working on transferring ingredients from the tray into the pot and mixing his "soup" with the ladel. S lasted with the game for a few minutes and even created some of his own recipes, but on this day he really wanted to use the little ingredients throughout the house in play. He wanted to make a donut smoothie in his kitchen set. He wanted to roll dreidels down his car ramp. He wanted to hide a selection of ingredients inside the popcorn machine in our Skating Rink Concession Stand and scoop them into popcorn bags for a special surprise treat. To be quite honest, I felt a little less enthusiastic about this spin on my activity because I now had the task of locating all those little pieces and returning them to the game set! And I also saw a need the boys had to work and play with little objects in their little hands. Loose Parts Play is such a vital ingredient in our home play repertoire and I had neglected it for some time around here.

As if she somehow has ESP, a friend of mine who is a fellow early childhood educator and talented artist sent me a message that night with gorgeous photos and video footage of a pop up Chanukah Loose Parts Atelier she set up in her preschool. It was set up with a variety of loose parts, recycled materials and craft supplies for the children to use as at their whim inspired by images and ideas of Chanukah. I was drooling. I was plotting and planning. I was ready to set up our own, smaller scale Chanukah Loose Parts Tinker Lab:

You can use whatever you have on hand to set up your loose parts tinker tray. We included Chanukah candles, assorted wooden dreidels, blue and white craft sticks, blue and gold beaded necklaces (party favors), glass gems, assorted glass mosaic tiles and a colorful selection of buttons, beads and baubles.

When I set up invitations or provocations with loose parts, I really want the ideas to be the childrens'. I also know that sometimes the sheer abundance of options combined with lack of exposure in day to day life can cause a "blank canvas syndrome" for many young children. To combat this, I encourage adults to also take an opportunity to tinker and create--even alongside the children. Alternatively, you can tinker and create on your own and include photographs or models of art created with the loose parts. You will need to gauge and balance the need to allow for complete child creativity and freedom with the equally important need to feel a sense of structure and guidance. 

For my own two little guys, I decided to set out some photos in the work area. I also offered that I would take photos of any creations they particularly loved and hang those on display as well. This is a great way to help children at play with loose parts to feel more comfortable with the temporary nature of their use in art. A work of art that is dismantled and returned to the tray after the day is done is still quite a novel aspect to many children! By using or offering the use of photography to children, their work can be preserved while still maintaining adherence to the true nature of loose parts play. You will notice that I did not include any paper, glue or tape to this setup. Had either of the boys had an interest in working with the materials in that way, I would have gone with the flow and allowed for it, but they were both quite content with creating and recreating images of Chanukah on their mirror trays. I particularly love the use of mirror trays (from Dollar Tree) in this activity as they reflect the color and the light of the materials. You could also set out paper, wood trays, picture frames or another means of designating space. 

If and when I do include models or examples of my own work to a child's art area, I do make sure to say that this is how I used the materials, but they can be used in many ways and everyone's work will be different and unique to their own imagination and ideas. The boys had so much fun throughout the day returning to our tinker lab to create, design, arrange and rearrange the loose parts in new ways. S often likes to tell stories about what he is creating. Y got particularly attached to wearing at least one of the necklaces!

There is something about little objects in little hands that is ever so inviting. Given a larger space, I'd love to steal, I mean, share more of my friend's ideas and work with larger recycled materials and objects. We will be back with another great Chanukah activity tomorrow and until then...

Happy Chanukah and Happy Playing!