Looking around our house, you might be surprised at how many miscellaneous parts of games and toys we have everywhere. Are we just really that disorganized? No.
We’re surrounded by the bits and pieces we’ve picked up on purpose. We scout out the “free” boxes at garage/rummage sales and pick up parts of this game and that toy. Why? Because released from their set, a piece of a toy can become anything your child needs or wants it to be.
Our kids don’t know the intended purposes of our various finds, so the parts become whatever they desire: robots, spaceships, cats, houses, and parts for bigger tinkering ‘inventions.’ We find that having these partial games and toys around helps our kids create their own worlds—the way generations of kids have had more fun with a simple cardboard box than any toy on the market.
Suddenly, these bits turn into something special with a back-story, powers, and skills- all straight from our kiddoes’ creative minds. There is no commercial tie-in, no movie franchise, and no Happy Meal association interfering with the play.
And when our kiddoes tire of the pieces and move on, it’s OK. The partial bit cost nothing, or almost nothing. But it gave so much more.