What is OPAL play?
OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) works off the belief that play is an essential part of childhood and children should have lots of great play at school and at home. OPAL play gives children the freedom to play with various items such as cardboard boxes, chalks, tyres, fabric, old suitcases and dressing up clothes. Other possibilities include creating quiet reading corners, a mud kitchen for messy play, materials to make dens.
The aim of OPAL play is to provide children with a play setting which is enjoyable, stimulating and challenging; to allow children to take risks; and provide children with a range of play opportunities which will support children’s learning across the curriculum and about the world around them.
Find out more on the OPAL website: https://outdoorplayandlearning.org.uk/
How can you get involved?
We are always looking for donations for our OPAL sheds. Some of the things that are great for OPAL play are:
- Suitcases of any size and type
- Anything on wheels/castors
- Plastic milk crates
- Briefcases, especially hard cased ones
- kitchen pots, pans, baking trays, work tables, wooden spoons, chopping boards
- tubes of various sizes and various materials
- Buckets
- Nets and ropes
- Keyboards
- Fabric (large sheets/brightly coloured fabric)
- Foam sheets / body boards
- Wooden pallets
- Guttering
- Noodles (the type you use in the swimming pool!)
- Pegs (to help to set up dens)
- Small world toys (play characters, cars, teddies, etc)
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