A toy that is only a toy to those who have the eyes to see it

As I watch my child pass by the expensive toys that were gifted to her and bought for you, and head straight for the magazine I realize something. As adults we look at something and it's use, and never venture pass that. Being a preschool teacher for so many years I know which toys are best for the development of my child and I have carefully chosen what comes into our house and how it is presented. I have watched with eagerness to see my child explore in the way I have watched so many others do. But she passes up these experiences, for now, and heads straight for the basket of trash. It isn't trash to her and it has been carefully cleaned for her pleasure. I have collected a few items I would have recycled such as yogurt containers, old credit cards, clothes pens, and the little scoopers from formula. She spends hours in the the world of children time but is only minutes in real time. She has spent up to 45 mins pulling these items out, looking at them, tasting them, touching them, discovering how they interact and exploring their properties. What is a toy or an educational tool? To those with an untrained eye, to those who have set aside their imagination it is merely what the pretty little packages in the store, in the toy section, have defined. To children is everything that interacts with the environment. I challenge all parents to look at their environment with new eyes and let your children explore what you may have just thrown away.