Resourcefulness.

I have chosen resourcefulness as a skill of focus for my 2025 Bush/Beach Kinder program. Here’s why.

Resourcefulness is an essential learning disposition and skill to nurture in the preschool years. And I wonder if children's resourcefulness is being hindered with the way that play has become trendy, instagrammable and adult centred.

Resourcefulness is about making the best of what we have, making something out of nothing and sometimes making do without something we would prefer or like to have. It's about creativity, clever problem-solving and solutions. When the majority of children's play experiences are pre-planned by an adult, with a large assortment of materials and toys already set up and displayed, the child is left with limited opportunity to be resourceful.

Notice the difference between these two play environments:

Environment 1: Adult sets up sensory tuff trays in a park. Each tray has a different theme. Underwater world with blue pasta and plastic sea animals. Dumptrucks and diggers in food products made to mimic sand and rocks. An 'ice-cream shop' with waffle cones, shaving foam and scoops. Children arrive at the park and are immediately drawn to the beautiful activities. Delighted by the colours, their favourite recognisable toys and all the sensory input on offer. The adult uses the activities to prompt their questions and conversations towards the child: "What colour is that one?" "How many are there?" "Can you scoop the icecream?" "What flavour is it?". Happy snaps end up all over social media with other adults commenting on how cute, pretty and amazing it all is.

Environment 2: Adult invites children into a park with no playground and no activities set up. They begin to wander around. Children notice the sounds of nature. Spot the birds and bugs. Find a tree that looks like it could be climb-able. Children ask the adult a million questions about things they do not yet know of the natural world. The adult listens to the conversations between the children, noticing the ways that children teach one another. Big questions emerge about 'who made the sun?' and 'why is the lake so dirty?'. One child steps on a bee and begins to cry. The adult helps the child manage the sting and the other children watch curiously. The children then notice that the bee is now injured and worry that it can no longer fly. More questions and conversations. The children decide they need to build a shelter box for the bee. They go off in search of the perfect materials in the bush and work together to construct the shelter, before placing the bee inside and moving it under a tree. So many possible avenues of inquiry emerge from this and the conversations about bees continue. The adult has so much to reflect on and plan for now. They forgot to take photos during this park trip because they were so busy responding to all the unexpected moments between them and the children.

There is nothing wrong with adults pre-planning beautiful activities and there is always learning in play. But we need to honour that play is and needs to be the child's responsibility. Not the responsibility of the adult or the environment. The more the adult designs the play the less it belongs to the child.