Eric.ed.gov – Partnering with Parents: Using Cap Kits to Support Learning Activities at Home

The idea of using plastic bottle caps to enhance children’s literacy and math skills was introduced in a pre-kindergarten methods and field class at West Chester University. We wanted an essentially cost-free way to create fun, hands-on, educational games for young students to learn basic skills supporting the Common Core State Standards (adopted by 45 states, www.corestandards.org/in-the-states). University education students began bringing plastic bottle caps, packaging them into kits, and taking them into local schools to help children learn. We have now not only formalized the Cap Kits program, but we have also conducted dozens of teacher trainings and parent workshops and have given away thousands of Cap Kits. By placing these materials into the hands of children, we are giving them manipulatives that can be used for meaningful, hands-on, engaging, and fun learning activities. Cap Kits are not just for the classroom; parents can also use them to support learning activities in the home environment.