I guess for me it is that there is no end product. By that I mean we play with pom poms, we make collages out of sticks and rocks and shells but then we dump the contents back into the dish and make a new collage - it doesn't get glued down and sent home. They have the same experience with the materials plus learn that the same materials can be used in a different way to make something totally different. I don't call it craft or art. I call it play.