Recycled resources are used in creative craft sessions for parents and children to help parents to see the potential of open-ended, inexpensive play materials. To support this, a resource base - a set of open shelves - has been established in the area of the building most frequented by parents. Stocked with a wide range of resources for families to take away and use at home, this initiative helps to increase the accessibility of the Cornwall Scrap Store and extend the range of creative resources available.
Artists working as part of the 'Soundabout' project in West Cornwall also make extensive use of recycled and reclaimed materials when working with children, families and early years practitioners. 'Soundabout', a two-year project run by MaDE (Music and Dance Education) and funded by Youth Music and Sure Start Local Programmes, involves musicians, dancers, visual and verbal artists working with children, families and practitioners to support young children's thinking and learning 'in' and 'through' the arts.
One aspect of the project has focused on artists working on a regular basis, for over a year, with families attending parent and toddler sessions. Over this period there has been the opportunity to extend parents' awareness of creativity through the resources and activities provided for the children. Recycled resources that are interesting and unusual to look at and which invite investigation by adults as well as children have played a significant part in this process. Over the period of the project, parents' confidence and enthusiasm has grown, their attitude to their children exploring resources in their own way has become more positive and they are now far more aware of how competent their children can be.
The unconventional nature of the recycled resources, the fact that there is no right or wrong way to use them and the discovery that everyone can have interesting ideas which produce unusual results have all been key contributing factors.