Straws in the Blocks Center

I'm continuing my experiment of using unusual things in different centers. Walking through the grocery store last week, I saw some neon straws and tossed them in the basket. I took them to the classroom and put them in the blocks center - since I have a group of builders, I'm trying to give them some options.

We were talking about wells, so I also added a couple of small buckets with yarn attached. (Last year the kids built wells and pretended to scoop out water.)

A couple of boys decided to use the straws as "water." They stuffed the straws into the buckets and transported them across the center. They dumped the "water" onto the picture of the well, I think to fill it up. The boys worked at this for a while.

Meanwhile, in another part of the center, one of my builders was at work creating a large structure.

After the other boys left, the builder completed his building and began to scoop and play with the straws.

Then he decided to incorporate the straws in his structure.

He worked really hard to find just the right spot in his structure.

I'm enjoying this experiment. The kids' imaginations and creativity always make me smile.