Nicola Hacking: On a budget

Budgets are always tight. It doesn’t seem to matter whether you work in a private nursery, school or children’s centre, there just never seems to be enough money to go around, so practitioners have learnt to be a pretty thrifty and hoarding bunch. Here are a few of my favourite sources for free goodies:

Recycling – This is where I always start. Your own recycling bin can be such a treasure trove of items, from turning plastic packaging into plant pots to boxes for junk modelling. I also think teaching children to re-use and reimagine single use packaging items helps them learn to give value to things in today’s throwaway society. One of my favourite things to keep is corks. They can be used for so many things and to enhance so many areas, from loose parts, to playdough or water stations (they float so are often re-imagined as boats). This week I’ve even been making them into small world figures! They’re a good size too and are warm and soft to the touch so make a very tactile and safe loose part for smaller hands, although as with everything else, just make sure nobody’s eating them. I also often use recycling centres such as Sam’s in Blackburn. It’s a volunteer-run waste and recycling centre, and is an absolute Aladdin’s Cave of re-useable treasure such as paper, fabrics, ribbons, sewing bobbins, cable reels, buckets and paints, all of which you can stuff in your trolley for just £20 a pop. They often have the most obscure, curiosity and role play inspiring items too such as wedding dresses or polystyrene mannequin heads! The volunteers are a crafty bunch too and have loads of different inspiring ideas hanging from the ceiling.

Nature – The outdoor environment is just so crucial, both for helping us reconnect to the earth and for providing a bounty of materials and activities. The beauty of outdoor items is also that they’re relatively unambiguous and could become almost anything in a child’s imagination. We’ve all read books like ‘Not a Stick’ by Antoinette Portis, or ‘Stanley’s Stick’ by Neal Layton. The beauty of these outdoor items matched with their open environment is that they could become pretty much anything the child’s play leads them to. I like to think seasonally with natural resources, which I also think helps children link to the small changes and seasons of the world around them. Show them the beauty and excitement of the first spring flowers, soft grass seeds or crunchy autumn leaves. Let them experience the cold of ice formed on bucket tops and the first snow. Nature is such a magical resource and it is free!

Community – Your community can be an invaluable source of help and support. Get to know your families and you will find people do and know all sorts of incredible stuff. Maybe you have grandparents who can help with craft or inspire a love of reading. Or keen gardeners who wouldn’t mind putting aside some unused seeds or pots, which generally they’re then happy to come and teach the children how to plant. I love growing my own fruit and veg at home and chuck all my ends of beans into a mixed pot. This medley of beans, in a myriad of different colours and sizes, then gets recycled into magic beans for a Jack and the Beanstalk inspired project. Of course making these links to your locality also helps you celebrate the diversity within it, and makes the learning personal to the community the children live in building their cultural capital, not forgetting the important links to British Values.  

Social Media – My last tip is to follow other inspiring settings or educators on social media. They often post amazing photos of provocations, resources, or learning environments that are so full of ideas. It also gives you an insight into what other people are doing and what’s current, it can be like a mini CPD session in itself! The Early Years isn’t a competition, we’re all in it for the children and sharing ideas and best practice means we’re all working together to improve our sector.