Heuristic Play

Heuristic play is a wonderful opportunity to capitalise on curiosity about the objects that make up the world around. The resources which make up a heuristic play collection will not be the kinds of objects traditionally thought of as toys for young children, but they provide equally valuable opportunities for extending children’s learning. The open-ended nature of the resources means that all toddlers can explore and investigate in their own way, applying their own creative ideas and building on their own experiences. Different children will be interested in doing different things with the resources so the key to creating a good heuristic play collection is to include as wide a variety of resources as possible.