For most of the Preschool year I have been laying the large mats out for the children to jump on, during gym time. Lately I had begun to notice that they had lost interest in using them. The other day the children pushed one of the large mats over. Once they had one mat laying flat I just thought I would push the other two mats over for safety reasons. The children thought that this was great! They began climbing over the mats and sliding down the back side. Then they realized that they could go under the mats. They spent the whole 30 minutes of gym time exploring these mats. This whole experience just confirms once again in my teaching of young children, that sometimes we as adults set out toys with a certain idea of how we think someone should use it. Making a toy or environment interesting doesn’t mean that we need to buy bigger or better. We just need to look at the object through small eyes. They have me wondering how they will extend their play? Will they get bored of the position of the mats? Will they add more toys to the play? #childrentakingchargeoftheirplay #bestplayisplaythatisnotstorebought #sweatykids