The opportunity to transport objects, materials and people is something many children love. Many years ago, with one of my classes, most weeks we would end up taking a suitcase full of stuff to the wildlife garden. This was always exciting in itself and most weeks there was a child willing to pull the suitcase there and back.

This is one reason why I find a suitcase a useful piece of kit. Children are happy moving gear about and can do so more easily. Once the suitcase arrived at the wildlife garden, it was often emptied out and then wheeled around the garden by different children, cross-country style.

More often than not someone would end up using it as a miniature home. It has also been a hoover, a swimming pool and given many other functions.

I’ve been surprised at how well the suitcase has coped with all the use and abuse. The other day, one child was using the same suitcase as a trampoline. It is regularly sat upon in lots of different ways.

As I tend to keep den-building materials in my suitcases, I was quite inspired at this particular use. It’s been made into a semi-den-water-wall-feature:

The uses of a suitcase seem never-ending. In the photo below the child uses the suitcase as a table for writing.

So if you ever have an unwanted suitcase, then give it to a school or nursery to play with. The hours of fun will be endless and it’s shelf life will be extended enormously. I wouldn’t call it a retirement home though!

This blog post was originally published in December 2012.