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Loose Parts Play: How to Encourage + What You Need to Get Started with Loose Parts Play with your Toddler or Preschooler.
Have you even bought your child an expensive new toy, and then found them having more fun playing with the cardboard box it came in, instead?

We've all been there.

The curiosity of turning that box into a race car, a rocket ship to the moon, or a castle for royalty is part of a child's imaginative development. It's wonderful to observe and should be nurtured.

And it's this theory, of taking loose parts with no official 'rules' for how they should be used, that educators and early childhood centers are returning to. It helps foster learning and thinking skills for toddlers' brains, and it's something you can encourage in your own home, too.

The Basics of Loose Part Play

Loose Parts Definition: What Is Loose Parts Play?

Loose parts play is any imaginative play with a variety of tactile materials. It happens naturally when children are given the open ended freedom to make their own narrative with disparate objects and materials.

Who Developed the Theory of Loose Parts?

The theory of loose parts was first coined in 1971 by Architect Simon Nicholson. He proposed that having open-ended materials in a child's environment can support the development of creativity and critical thinking skills.

Can You Give Me Some Examples?

Pretty much anything can be used according to loose parts theory.

It can be done indoors or outdoors and on a large and small scale.

We use this random teak board, which used to form the side panel on a doll's house, a lot, and for a variety of activities!

On a small scale, it could be making patterns from beads and feathers. On larger scales, it could be creating a castle with a drawbridge outdoors, using crates, planks and tyres!

Your children probably partake in loose parts play naturally when they take out the Duplo blocks and combine them with their cars to make a garage. Or combine with their train set to make a town.

They're combining materials they have around them, and creating imaginative narratives and scenarios as they go. Even more simply, they come up with wildly different ways to use the same materials, over and over again.

What Can I Use for Loose Parts Play?

If you really want to encourage this type of play at home, you need to build a collection of materials that will engage and be fun for children to create their own play with.

The parts can be anything you can think of, and can be large or small depending on where you set up your area.

However, they often aren't toys exclusively. While toys can be used in this type of play, it's usually by incorporating toys with other materials, rather than using the toys alone.

They are often natural or repurposed elements that your child can allocate a role to.

For quite awhile, we had a bag full of plastic bread tags and lids from milk jugs and squeezy packs that we used daily!

Other bits you can easily find at places like the dollar store, yard sales, or craft shops.

Remember small pieces can be choking hazards for little ones, so bigger, chunkier objects are better for the youngest kids.

A Basic Loose Parts List for Indoor Play

The list is really quite endless! Use your imagination, and pick things that pique your curiosity, as those will be exciting to your kids, too!

Outdoor Loose Part Play Ideas

Try things like:

What are The Benefits of Loose Parts Play?

Playing with loose parts has so many benefits to the developing minds of little ones!

Supports Imagination Development

Loose parts play is incredibly open-ended. One day a bowl of pine cone cones can be a dragon's breakfast, the next they could be the treasure the pirates are searching for!

Even though kids are utilizing the same things in their environment day in and day out, their narratives and how they play can be totally unique each time. This type of activity really helps their creativity bloom!

Encourages Independent and Creative Learning and Thinking

As there are no 'rules' to the game and how to play, kids can make their own ideas. Upon finding some twigs, they could decide to create a home for the fairies in the garden, and then expand and create the furniture to go inside.

They can choose the parts that are appropriate and how they fit together.

Longer Attention Span

When playing with loose parts, children lose track of time and get into what adults might call a "flow state" in which they're totally present.

The play is free for them to develop and you'll find they can concentrate on what they're doing for far longer than within a guided, prescribed activity.

Develops Problem Solving Skills

This links to the previous benefit, but as kids choose the parts they need to make their play, they learn how to select the right things within their environment, such as choosing leaves instead of a plank of wood to create a blanket for a mouse house.

They'll also encounter aspects with building and engineering, making loose parts for toddlers a natural early STEM activity. Maybe they're building a structure from sticks and they can't join them together. In this case, they'll need to find other materials like string or clothespins to help them.

You'll find that during play with loose parts children persevere for longer and learn how to learn from mistakes by adapting and trying new things, which promotes a healthy mindset for life!

Supports Acquisition of Motor Skills

Manipulating objects, big and small, support the gross and fine motor skills your children need to develop.

From moving and lifting large items like planks and tires, to opening clothespins, and fiddling with buttons and screws. All will be done naturally through their play!

Encourage a Sense of Risk

Risky play isn't always a comfortable aspect for some adults, who want their children to be safe in all they do. But risky play is also an essential childhood activity to promote problem solving and independence in your child's mind.

It doesn't mean allowing your child to do things that are obviously dangerous, but just allowing them a little more freedom to learn through risk.

Like during outdoor loose part play, they may set up a balance beam with a plank between two supports. If one support is rounded, or unstable, the beam will be wobbly, and the children will feel and can re-design their course by making it more stable.

Supports Language Development

As kids are open to their own ideas, they can develop their own narrative for their play. This is especially true when children engage collaboratively with their siblings or peers.

You'll see your kids engage in conversation and storytelling as they describe what they have created. Often this is made through connections between the stories they have heard, such as making houses for the three little pigs that the wolf can't blow down!

Develops Skills in Other Areas of Learning

As they play with loose parts, children begin to understand how things work and about the world around them. Even though it's not an objective, through building towers and creating, they will learn concepts such as gravity, forces, and weight.

They may develop mathematical skills by sorting, classifying, combining, and separating. Children often begin to count and arrange parts in specific patterns. Early types of measuring, thinking with spatial awareness, and logical classification are developed too.

Return to Nature!

In this modern age of children who are so engrossed in the immediate gratification of fasted paced tablets and technology, allowing them to play with an open-ended structure takes away the limitations in their development. You can see them really blossom as they play and create their own narrative in what they do. You can even collect objects for play during your outdoor adventures!

Cheaper Than 'Toys'

Modern playsets, dollhouses, and car garages are costly, and only have one way to play with them.

You can set up a loose parts area easily and for a relative fraction of the cost of buying things from the toy store. A lot of your piece you can find on a nature walk, and buy others from dollar stores.

How do you Introduce Loose Part Play Theory?

This is simple. Just set it up and allow your child to use loose parts freely. A loose parts shelf is engaging to little ones.

For very small toddlers you don't need a lot of choices, and there doesn't need to be more to their play than stacking, or sorting and exploring the textures.

Older children can explore bigger narratives.

However, This may take some getting used to, especially if they are new to it. But the more they are exposed to creating in this way, the greater their confidence will grow.

You will see them build on concepts they have made on previous occasions.

If your children are struggling with the lack of structure, you could give them a question or task to explore and let them do it in their own way.

Maybe they could build a bridge to cross a river (you could put a sheet across the lawn to help them visualize it!)

Maybe they could make an art face using different elements for eyes, ears, and mouths.

Or they could create a home for a squirrel to live in. Use what they find interesting to hook them in!

How can Adults Facilitate Loose Parts Play?

Loose parts play should be fun, creative, and child-led. As parents, you may need to take a step back, and allow your child to take the lead in choosing which parts they need and how they will use them.

Ask them questions, and delve into their stories to expand, but simply, enjoy watching them beam and create their own world and explore their own concepts which they find interesting. The possibilities are endless and a child's imagination is free to decide.

Managing Loose Parts

This is one of the important parts of the loose parts aspect, and making the loose parts accessible for children to use will help them develop their creativity and be able to refine their problem-solving skills when the (many) opportunities arise!

General Storage Principles

Loose parts should be stored at an easy to access height and in easily visible containers. A lot of loose parts play theories advocate keeping it as natural as possible (which links beautifully with Montesorri theories of learning) and find that using baskets and wooden storage boxes are a great way to display the parts for easy accessibility.

Plus having them displayed in this way makes it easier for curious minds to think critically and select the parts they need - for example, if a child is looking for an appropriate way to bind two sticks together, they can select string or a rubber band as a good resource based on its properties and usefulness, rather than rummaging through a box of mixed loose parts and finding the first thing they come across, that may or may not be suitable.

Ideas for Storage

Baskets can be found easily on Amazon, like this sturdy set, or for a cheaper option, grab this bulk pack, but they may not last as long with curious hands playing frequently with them! You can also keep an eye out at yard sales and thrift stores for great odds and ends! Arrange the baskets on a shelving system, and your kids will be so curious, they can't NOT play! They'll be so excited to dive in.

Wicker and natural materials can be an expensive option though, so for a more budget-friendly choice, this colorful plastic-style storage unit can be easily turned into a loose parts station for your children to select what they need as they play. (It also comes in a white option for a more toned-down look!)

And the best part about the loose parts play is that the parts stay loose, it's not about sticking the bits together to make a picture. It's about the freedom to move it and change it so glue is a no-no! So at the end of your loose parts play all of the bits and pieces can be reused for the next days discoveries!

Encourage Good Habits

At the end of loose parts play, support your children by congratulating them on their incredible creations and imaginative ideas. And incorporate 'tidy-up time' within the play too. encouraging them to put the loose parts back in the right baskets and boxes to make them easy to utilize the next time they play! (unless of course you have a large enough place to play and can leave out their creation to be expanded on the next day!)

Outdoor loose play is a little trickier to manage in an organized way, but still possible. You may consider a loose parts 'small shed' with shelves and hooks to keep things together.

Final Thoughts on Loose Parts Play

I hope you have enjoyed reading about this concept of loose parts play theory. The loose parts play ideas from Simon Nicholson is becoming more popular in early childhood settings, especially in other areas of the world, like the UK and Australia.

I hope you try to set an area up in your own home and see the beauty of how this style of learning can influence and support your little one.

If you want to share these loose parts ideas with other parents and families, pass on this article!

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Loose Parts Play for Kids: What It Is & What You Need to Get Started

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Loose Parts Play: How to Encourage + What You Need to Get Started with Loose Parts Play with your Toddler or Preschooler.

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Benefits of Loose Parts Play - My Teaching Cupboard

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There are numerous benefits of loose parts play in the early childhood classroom. In this blog post you will discover what loose parts are and the curriculum learning intentions you can teach through loose parts play.

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Empty boxes, rope, string and pieces of wood. Packaging over toys. Your child will almost inevitably play with these items! This is known as Loose Parts Play and, with support, can encourage learning, growth and development in young children.

What is Loose Parts Play?

Have you ever noticed that if you leave old junk around, whether it be empty boxes, rope, string or pieces of wood, your child will almost inevitably play with it? Or perhaps you have observed your child occupied with the package a toy came in while the toy itself remains untouched? These are all examples of Loose Parts Play. Jenny Kable shared her tips for encouraging Loose Parts Play at home.

The 'Loose Parts Theory'

The 'Loose Parts Theory' has been around for generations. In fact, the term was first used by Simon Nicholson in 1971 to describe the fundamental materials that can be manipulated and used by children in their play environment.

Loose Parts open the door to children's self-directed creative and imaginative play. These humble materials, when combined with time, space and the support of an interested parent or carer can have many benefits for a child's learning, growth and development.

Why is Loose Parts Play important?

Loose parts play provides children of all ages and stages with an enabling environment full of interesting objects that support curiosity, creativity, imagination and invention.

With no prescribed method of play, children can assign their own purpose and meaning to the objects they are playing with allowing them to explore, create and imagine in all the senses of those words.

Loose Parts Play benefits

Playing with loose parts can build on children's learning through:

Increasing physical activity

Enhancing cognitive skills

Increasing focus and engagement

Boosting natural curiosity

Inviting conversation and collaboration

Developing higher levels of critical thinking and problem solving.

Examples of Loose Parts Play materials

Home is the perfect environment for you to introduce loose parts to your children. The only limitation is your imagination. Nearly any safe household object or garden item in your natural environment can act as loose parts materials and encourage and inspire Loose Parts Play. As adults we often forget how an object can be used in play.

Loose parts play materials include:

Rope, bedroom sheets and laundry baskets are wonderful tools for building forts and cubby houses indoors during the wet and colder months

Colanders, frying pans and metal bowls make great musical instruments

Leaves, petals, dried flowers, feathers, shells and paper are natural resources to make a collage masterpiece.

Fabrics such as ribbons, scarfs and laces an be used to decorate a plant.

Loose Parts Play ideas

With loose parts play the possibilities are endless! The key thing to remember is that materials must have no pre-set rules allowing children the opportunity to create their own play adventure. Their loose parts can be collected, stacked, moved, shared, glued, painted, taken apart, lined up and any other type of play you can think of!

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Empty boxes, rope, string and pieces of wood. Packaging over toys. Your child will almost inevitably play with these items! This is known as Loose Parts Play and, with support, can encourage learning, growth and development in young children. What is Loose Parts Play?

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'Loose parts' are ordinary, everyday, open-ended materials that can be manipulated and used in various ways, moved, carried, shared, combined and taken apart in various configurations and designs. There are no specific directions accompanying the materials and many various outcomes are possible from their use. They have high affordance value in terms of what they can offer or provide to support children's play, exploration and cognitive development, and can be easily transformed with children's imagination. Examples are pebbles and leaves, ribbons, buttons, ropes, pot plants, figurines, chalks, papers, blocks and plastic pipes.
Loose parts are often provided in art areas, providing children with opportunities to extend their ideas through art, sculpture and collage. However, creative expression can be encouraged in all areas of the early childhood setting, for example, as children arrange rows of sticks outside. Loose parts can also be larger parts for making structures, such as tyres, moveable blocks, platforms, ladders, and straw bales, and also include natural elements such as water or sand.

What is heuristic play?

Heuristic play is exploratory play with materials and objects. Children handle, explore and make discoveries about the properties and features of objects, and develop ideas for how they might be used or combined and how they relate to each other. For example, children might explore a set of balls, pom poms and other spherical objects alongside a range of containers and tubes. Heuristic play is sometimes provided via a 'Treasure Basket' for infants who are able to sit but are not otherwise mobile.

Why should I use loose parts with children?

Materials are theorised to be highly important in the formation of neural networks in the brains of very young children because they stimulate the senses. The ability to focus, sustain attention and identify salient features are activated and practised when children are provided with stimulating open-ended materials. These early skills are the foundation of later learning. The principle of loose parts is also underpinned by beliefs about the competency, skill and creativity of children. They can cater for all of the interests, strengths and cultures of diverse children, and children can create environments that suit their current skills. In practical terms, using loose parts in your curriculum also encourages the reuse and recycling of objects.

The small body of empirical research that has been conducted on outcomes for children as a result of the use of loose parts suggests that, in relation to outdoor play at least, outcomes for children include an increase in:

engagement in a greater variety of activities and versatile play, and particularly constructive play and dramatic play through affordances for designing dramatic play spaces

more complex play narratives

social interaction and play with peers

complex verbal and nonverbal communications including negotiation skills

diverse risk-taking behaviours

In addition, the use of loose parts and malleable environments is thought to:

Stimulate sensory perception, and enable children to develop their powers of discrimination using their senses. Discriminatory skills are needed for identifying similarities and differences and for categorising objects.

Stimulate discovery, both of the properties, possibilities and limitations of materials and also children's understanding of what they can think and do as learners. Moving, manipulating and combining materials into diverse things with multiple meanings, and applying understandings about the properties of materials and what can be done with them, encourages higher levels of critical thinking and stimulates increased flexibility in children.

Promote a range of cognitively complex play, including physical play, dramatic play, games with rules and construction play, and extend children's length of engagement in play, by injecting novelty into play environments.

Provoke creativity and imagination in terms of attributing objects with functions and meanings, such as turning a crate into a boat. Imagination underpins creative problem-solving and enables children to synthesise and apply knowledge as part of meaning-making and sense-making.

Allow children to develop their own ideas and inquiries, which enhances their autonomy, self-direction and self-knowledgeand supports feelings of pride, self-efficacy, and self-esteem. Making choices from the many possibilities available to regulate play can encourage regulation skills and help children learn how to make good choices.

Develop language and vocabulary for new objects, experiences and play scenarios, and stimulate rich conversations and storytelling.

Develop early numeracy skills through providing a context for sorting, classifying, combining and separating objects, for mathematical skills such as counting, measuring and sequencing, and for risk-taking skills and problem-solving.

Provide a context for the development of both fine and gross motor skills

Promote social interactions and conversations. Open-ended play with other children involves communication, negotiation, cooperation, leadership, and decision-making.

What is the teacher's role?

Incorporating loose parts into your curriculum is not as simple as adding the parts to the children's learning space. It is important to consider what to provide and how to present it in order to connect with children's learning needs and interests, or loose parts may be ignored or used inappropriately. Be aware that it can take time for children to adjust to loose parts if this approach is new to them.

Tips for planning and organisation:

Select materials thoughtfully. Ensure materials are capable of arousing children's interest and attention. Research shows children attend to novel objects but are easily bored once an object has lost its novelty, and a lack of appropriate or interesting items can lead to lower interest, engagement, concentration and creative play with objects. However, some infants and toddlers may like to return to favourite items.

Intentionally present loose parts as provocations or invitations to interact with the materials. Aim for provocations that inspire children's exploration and discovery, question-asking, theory-testing and deep thinking and that promote either individual or group investigations.

Make loose parts visible and accessible for children to give children choice about what to use, how and when. Provide dedicated spaces for using the materials by using trays, mats or rugs (carpets can dampen noise).

Provide enough resources to allow for complex play and reduce frustration and conflict, but not so many that it becomes overwhelming or overstimulating. Heuristic play approaches recommend collections of 50 items of five or six types (such as pine cones or ribbons) for a group of six children. Infants using treasure baskets can manage around 80-100 diverse items and a greater variety of objects is more stimulating for infants' brain development.

Use a reflective, responsive and intentional approach, for example, observing children's explorations and selecting loose parts to expand them. Think through what children might do with the materials (try out materials yourself to see how they behave) and consider how to encourage children to engage for more than a few minutes. Experiment with different ways of setting out materials and see how children respond. Different arrangements will shape how children perceive and attach meaning to the materials, and children will play differently with the same materials presented on a tabletop, on the floor, inside and outside.

Regularly replenish, change and add to loose parts. Consider having a designated person responsible for maintaining loose parts collections. Encourage familiesto help you acquire and replenish loose parts, which also models sustainability values. Send out a written note with a list of suggested items to collect. Keep loose play parts in quality condition and present them attractively.

Ensure safety by checking items are safe, and by being physically present and attentive when children are using items.

Your role during play:

Children and teachers can use materials together for the greatest influence on learning. With older children, teachers might have intention for the materials and invite children to focus their attention on particular features, or wonder about meanings and significance together with children, or help children relate actions and properties to previous or future events. With infants and toddler, teachers' interactions may be distracting, so consider a more unobtrusive presence.

Give children plenty of time to explore the properties of loose parts and experiment with different possibilities, which leads to more complex play.

Observe children and be intentionally focused on the child (with eyes and mind), to discover their current learning interest, level and needs. Try to identify children's ideas, theories and interests in using loose parts,and look for patterns of action and behaviour (schemas), especially with infants and toddlers.

Model appropriate play for children who are not showing initiative in using the materials. You might discreetly offer children alternative materials, such as a smaller ball if they are struggling to fit a larger ball down a tube. Encourage place-making such as making houses, dens, shops, with paths, furniture such as seats, and smaller items. Encourage children to add to these over a period of time.

Allow children to develop their own ideas, support their observations, discussions, explorations and meaning-making, and respond to requests for support. Offer children opportunities to move loose parts around the play areas and be supportive when they invent new uses for loose parts.

Reorganise materials when they become muddled to make it easier to see what is available and to suggest new play ideas, and encourage children to help sort objects back into their containers at the end of play to encourage early mathematical concepts as well as language development. Ask questions like 'Can you find the blue/big shells?' and 'Can you make sure the tins are empty?'

How might I inquire into the use of loose parts at my setting?

If you are already using loose parts with children, find out what learning is happening by examining portfolios and observing children at play. Find out which collections of loose parts, or which areas in which loose parts are available, are preferred by children by talking to children or asking them to take photographs. Consider how teachers interact with children in regard to loose parts and what impact this has on their learning. Question your assumptions and ask yourself how you could investigate what children are gaining from your current loose parts provision.

You might investigate your practice further by making intentional changes to your loose parts provision. Choose one or two small and specific areas to investigate more deeply. What hunches do you have about what is going on? For example, do you have a hunch that children are not using loose parts because they do not connect well to children's current inquiries? Do you think there might be a connection between teachers' lack of engagement with the materials and children's lack of interest? Use your hunch to determine what action to take in order to help you to investigate it. When you are ready to experiment, take systematic and targeted action focused by goals for your teaching practice as well as for children's learning. Keep in focus the intended outcomes you have for children's learning rather than focusing on specific loose parts or activities with them. Monitor the impact of your changes by focusing observation on your intended goals by, for example, creating an observation tool that lists the elements important to your inquiry.

Further readingDaly, L., & Beloglovsky, M. (2015). Loose parts: Inspiring play in young children. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.

Flannigan, C. & Dietze, B. (2017). Children, outdoor play and loose parts. Journal of Childhood Studies, 42(4), 53-60.

Maxwell, L. E., Mitchell, M. R., & Evans, G. W. (2008). Effects of play equipment and loose parts on preschool children's outdoor play behaviour: An observational study and design intervention. Children, Youth and Environments, 18(2), 36-63.

Sear, M. (2016). Why loose parts? Their relationship with sustainable practice, children's agency, creative thinking and learning outcomes. Educating Young Children, 22(2), 16-19.

By Dr Vicki Hargraves

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Materials for play: Why open-ended loose parts are important - THE EDUCATION HUB

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'Loose parts' are ordinary, everyday, open-ended materials that can be manipulated and used in various ways, moved, carried, shared, combined and taken apart in various configurations and designs. There are no specific directions accompanying the materials and many various outcomes are possible from their use.

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Have you ever looked at a bunch of pine cones and thought about how they would make the perfect bodies for a family of hedgehogs? Or seen the potential in a bunch of sticks, rocks and leaves to become the world's fastest rocket ship? Probably not. But your children surely have.

The beauty of children is that they see possibilities in everything. Objects are never just one thing. There is a joy in how they can take a seemingly disparate collection of found objects and create something incredible, all with just the power of their imagination.

As early childhood educators, we know the power loose parts play in unleashing creativity and encouraging problem-solving. We know that the learning environment is enriched when children can explore open-ended materials.

We've broken it down for you to help you understand what it is, why it matters and how to welcome loose parts play into your routine.

What is Loose Parts Play?

The loose parts play theory is based on the idea that when children are presented with a collection of small objects (i.e. loose parts), they have more opportunities for creativity and engagement as they rearrange, redesign and tinker with the parts, creating patterns and new objects as they go. Architect Simon Nicholson developed the theory in the early 1970s.

Loose parts play is likely how your children naturally play. They collect bits and bobs from around them and bring them together to create something new. When we talk about loose parts play in an educational or more structured setting, it's about giving children more of these opportunities to explore and develop their innate creativity.

The Benefits of Loose Parts Play

As adults, when we're caught up in our busy days, it's easy to think of loose parts play as busy work or something to keep the kids occupied. But it's so much more than that. In truth, loose parts play is a crucial piece of the puzzle in the developmental skills your child needs as they learn and grow.

You might be surprised to learn what some of those benefits are and how beneficial playing with random materials can be for young children. Some of the benefits include:

Developing a sense of independence as children have the freedom to explore different materials autonomously.

Encouraging language development as children communicate their ideas and knowledge with their peers, educators, parents and carers.

Building creative thinking, problem-solving, curiosity and abstract thinking skills as children explore the materials and discover new ways of playing with them.

Enhancing fine motor skills as children pick up, hold and manipulate materials in multiple ways.

Facilitating collaboration, sharing and belonging as children interact with others around them engaged in the play.

Increasing physical play and activity along with gross motor skills as children move and transfer their creations and use them in further imaginative play.

How Playing with Loose Parts Benefits Children's Learning

In many ways, playing with loose parts gives your children the building blocks they need for so many other skills, both cognitive and physical.

Holding a pencil to start writing or picking up a pair of scissors to cut doesn't just happen. First children start by picking up small objects - beads, a stick or other materials. They gradually move onto bigger objects or even learn how to manipulate tweezers to pick up small pieces of paper.

Through playing with loose parts they are learning the early concepts of engineering and physics - about weight, density and how things work.

They take their ideas and turn them into physical phenomena, engaging in early forms of storytelling as they place different objects together.

Best of all, this type of play is led by the child. You create the learning environment and then they take over. Children love to be independent. They are natural learners and playing with loose parts taps into this to help them learn in an open-ended way.

How Loose Parts Play Benefits Teachers... and Teaching

As early childhood teachers, we love nothing more than seeing children develop and discover new interests and ideas. It's our job to nurture a child's passions and talents in a safe and respectful learning environment.

Loose parts play allows us to create environments and provide resources and then let the kids take over. In this way, we can give each of the children in our care exactly what they need. Some kids have an idea and run with it. Other children need some support to help bring their idea to life. Loose parts play helps us to uncover those differences and tailor the experience to each child.

This type of play also helps us to uncover areas for development such as particular fine motor skills.

Loose Parts Focused Strategies and Approaches

Loose parts play is as complex as you make it. Start with the basics and go from there. You don't need to have the biggest collection of materials to make it work. Here's what you need to consider.

Organising for Loose Parts Play

Loose parts organisation is about keeping it simple. You can store your loose parts in buckets or small containers that can also double as loose parts.

You can choose to separate the loose parts resources into categories or simply keep them all together in one box. It's whatever works with your life and the same in your home.

Loose Parts Materials

One of the best things about this type of play is that it's relatively inexpensive. You don't need to buy expensive toys - you can find many of the loose parts materials around your house or out in nature. The possibilities are endless!

While not an exhaustive list, here are some ideas to spark your thinking:

natural materials such as pine cones, sticks, rocks and leaves

craft items such as pipe cleaners, beads, buttons, sequins, cotton reels, paddle pop sticks and feathers

household items such as egg cartons, bottle caps, milk carton lids, paper towel and toilet paper tubes

wooden items such as wood scraps or wooden blocks

All these things can be easily collected from around the home. You can even ask local businesses if they have scraps of wood or other items that they are happy to donate. As you come across new objects you can add to your stash.

Loose Parts and Open-Ended Learning

Open-ended learning and loose parts play are connected concepts that both offer similar outcomes - allowing kids to discover their world and have fun with the process.

With open-ended learning, children are encouraged to learn without set parameters or rules. There is no right or wrong answer or way of doing things. Loose parts play is much the same. Two kids can be presented with the same collection of loose parts and create two completely different things. Neither is right or wrong. Both are free to make the learning experiences their own.

Loose Parts within the Curriculum

The theory of loose parts play is one thing, but how does it work in practice in the learning environment? Within our curriculum, we use loose parts in a range of different key learning areas to enhance the learning and make it fun!

Maths

Within maths, we might encourage children to collect and count loose parts or to arrange them in patterns. Sorting objects into colours, sizes or shapes or even matching like items are all early maths skills.

Science

Loose parts experiments can be loads of fun. Which items float or sink in water? What happens if you try to put a large block on top of a smaller one? What shadows do different loose parts cast? What are different loose parts made of and what properties do different materials have?

Language and Literacy

As children start to describe the loose parts in front of them or what they have created with those parts, it helps to build their language skills. Combined with the power of early storytelling experiences, literacy skills can also be enhanced.

Art, Movement and Music

Children can use loose parts within artworks or as tools to create that art. A leaf can be dipped in paint and pressed onto a page or a feather can be used as a paintbrush. Children love to make music and can create their own musical instruments to move and dance with. They can also learn from using things such as scarves or ribbons to observe how they move when they dance.

Loose Parts Learning Outcomes

We use loose parts play to help in meeting all five of the learning outcomes in the Early Years Learning Framework.

Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity.

We encourage children to express their individuality and express themselves within loose parts play. They are free to take risks within a safe and nurturing environment.

Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world.

Using items found in nature we connected children to their natural world and also foster community amongst the peer group as they discover and learn together.

Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of well-being.

By being allowed to express themselves and work collaboratively or autonomously in a safe environment we are caring for the children's wellbeing.

Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners.

As these experiences cater to the individual preferences of each child, they can engage in learning in a way that suits their personality and interests. This gives them the confidence to ask questions and take risks, both skills they need to be confident and involved learners.

Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators.

Explaining their creations, asking questions about items and learning about sharing or give and take helps to embed and develop important communication skills.

Loose Parts Ideas and Resources

When it comes to loose parts play there is a world of possibilities. You can set up endless invitations to play or simply hand over the loose parts and let them go wild.

We encourage families to speak with your educator if you have any questions about loose parts play and how we use it in the Gowrie NSW centres. Your educator can also give you ideas for your child to make the most of loose parts play at home.

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Loose Parts Play unleashes creativity and encourages problem-solving. It is how children play naturally. Learn the benefits of Loose Parts Play | Gowrie NSW

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Beyond fancy and expensive toys designed for specific purposes/functions, there are a whole lot of materials, easily obtained at little or no cost, that can widen the scope, as well as greatly enhance the quality, of children's play (and learning) experiences; these are collectively called "loose parts."

In other words, loose parts are materials that can be moved, combined, taken apart, redesigned, and used in more ways during play than one can imagine.

They can be natural (rocks, sticks, sand, shells, seeds, pebbles, feathers, water, leaves, flowers, grasses, bark), or man-made (straws, ropes, ribbons, chalk, wine corks, bubble wraps, crates, cartons, tires, and boxes).

Because loose parts play is open-ended and child-led as opposed to adult-led, it offers so much more possibilities and children tend to get highly involved in it.

There are so many benefits your child could derive from engaging in this sort of play, that we cannot possibly discuss all in this brief piece; so, the following are ten benefits we consider most significant.

1. Imagination and Creativity Boost

Since loose parts do not have a clearly defined purpose, and no one tells children what they are supposed to do with such when it's play time, they are compelled to use their imagination, to see possibilities in these objects or materials, and to come up with creative ways to make the most use of them.

With the freedom to think and explore their own ideas when faced with loose parts, a child's imagination is enhanced, and they become more creative as they try to find ways of using the same loose parts for many different purposes during play.

2. Greater Independence

Loose parts play helps to foster independence because it is child-led for the most part. With minimal input from parents, educators or caregivers, a child engaged in loose parts play has no choice but to think for themselves, set their own agenda, as well as define their own methods and objectives.

Faced with some sticks, stones and sand for instance, your child would have to decide what to build and how to go about building it - all by themselves. Having to constantly make such decisions and carry them out, then, helps to make your child more independent.

3. Better Problem Solving

Due to its open-ended nature, loose parts play tends to present many obstacles or challenges which a child has to overcome in order to achieve their play objectives.

For example, while engaged in loose parts play children usually have to devise ways of using the materials available - whether adequate or not - to achieve particular outcomes; they have to determine what objects are suitable for symbolizing some other objects; they also have to think of ways to prevent things from being too short, long, heavy, or unbalanced while designing structures for instance. Overcoming all these challenges sharpens their problem-solving skills.

4. Improved Concentration

Loose parts play can be very immersive because of the nearly unlimited possibilities for expression that it offers children. If you observe your child while they are practicing this kind of play you will notice that they exhibit a higher level of involvement than when they are taking part in activities led/directed by adults.

So, because loose parts play keeps a child engrossed, constant engagement in it is likely to result to a more developed ability to concentrate, and this could as well help the child excel while involved in other activities or carrying out certain tasks.

5. Language and Vocabulary Development

When children engage in loose parts play together there tends to be a lot of questioning, narration, negotiation, exchange of ideas, and so on, involved. A child will always want to ask a playmate what s/he is doing, and will also like to discuss what they themselves are doing. Newly-learned language is explored, and phrases are even made up in order to better describe things or share ideas.

The rich interchange of language resulting from good quality loose parts play will go a long way towards developing your child's vocabulary, and improving their conversational skills.

6. Superior Emotional Development

While engaged in loose parts play children will usually take on varying roles at different points; using loose parts to represent their favorite characters, real or imagined, they will also act out a variety of dialogues and stories.

By doing these, children get to view the world through different perspectives; they gain a better understanding and appreciation of the world and people in general; they grow in confidence and self-assurance; they begin to realize their place in the world and what they are capable of; and they turn out to be more emotionally mature individuals.

7. Feelings of Satisfaction

Because playing with loose parts frequently requires them to think, solve problems, create and achieve, the end result for children is a feeling of excitement, accomplishment, and satisfaction.

Let's say your child has spent quite a lot of time trying to build a tower with stones; and, despite the tower collapsing several times, they persisted and finally succeeded. Don't you think they will get to experience the feelings of euphoria and fulfillment that accompany achievement? We most definitely think so.

8. Multiple Skills Acquisition

Due to its cross-curricular nature, loose parts play presents children with numerous opportunities to develop skills across several areas including science, math, and art, to mention but a few.

Your child could, for example, acquire artistic/design skills by making pictures with loose parts such as leaves, or creating shapes and models with play dough; they could develop their conversation skills through constant interaction with peers; and they could also develop their math skills by sorting, counting, and creating patterns using loose parts.

9. Improved Risk-Taking Ability

There is a slight level of risk associated with some forms of loose parts play, such as building structures with sticks and then walking on or climbing over them; therefore, children that frequently engage in such risky play usually become better at taking and managing risks in general.

It has been found that exposing children to controlled risks positively impacts their psychological and emotional development, among other benefits.

10. Enhanced Fine and Gross Motor Skills

Several different activities characterise loose parts play. When they are not fiddling with, sorting, positioning or balancing, children engaged in this kind of play will be picking up, transporting, constructing, and maneuvering/manipulating a variety of objects.

All these involve different physical movements which help to speed up the development of gross and fine motor skills in children.

Evidently, loose parts play can positively impact your child in many different ways.

Just bear in mind that while this type of play is mostly child-led, you, as a parent, have important and intentional roles to play, especially when your child engages in this kind of play at home.

You could help them source the loose parts they need, encourage them when they are facing obstacles, and applaud them when they achieve something; you could also supervise and provide a bit of guidance when/where necessary just to ensure they play safely and reap the loosest parts play benefits.

It can also be helpful to know that high-quality kindergartens like Raintree International Kindergarten Bangkok provide adequate opportunities for children to expand their imagination, boost their creativity, satisfy their curiosity, and fulfill their desires through quality loose parts play.

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Do you want to boost the creativity of your child? Here are 10 benefits of loose parts play for your kids!

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EXPLORING LOOSE PARTS PLAY AT HOME - Ever Active Schools

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With the recent news of classes being cancelled and children and youth spending more time at home or away from school, Loose Parts Play is one opportunity to engage in a variety of play experiences!

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Western International School of Shanghai (WISS)

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Grapat Toys How to use Loose Parts plus a review on our Entire collection #Montessoriwithhart

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Cultivating Confidence - Early Years Consultancy

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Loose Parts Play Ideas For Invitations To Play

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Sand play dough paired with loose parts.

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Playdough Bugs - Frugal Fun For Boys and Girls | Insects preschool, Bugs preschool, Playdough activities

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Last week, we had a great time creating playdough bugs! I put out playdough (I had fun making spring colors!), pipe cleaners cut into segments, toothpicks, straws cut into segments, and googly eyes. The boys got right to work making bugs and caterpillars! This one is Gresham’s spider.  He asked for a whole white pipe […

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25 Fun Loose Parts Play Ideas for Kids in 2024 | Preschool activities, Purposeful play, Toddler activities

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Apr 7, 2024 - From nature-inspired play to construction zones and sensory exploration, here are some great Loose Parts Play Ideas for Kids that will spark their curiosity

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My Huge Ever-Growing Loose Parts List and Obession - MamaMeganAllysa | Preschool art, Preschool activities, Montessori activities

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I love loose parts. and I love lists. It was only a matter of time before I combined everything into a loose parts list! I’ve been collecting for years and now have a lot of the basics stashed away for play and learning. That being said I am ALWAYS on the lookout for a new … Continue reading "My Huge Ever-Growing Loose…

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Loose parts lab | Reggio emilia classroom, Reggio classroom, Eyfs classroom

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Discover (and save!) your own Pins on Pinterest.

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Educating Kids on Instagram: "Small wooden bowls and boxes are ideal for storing loose parts.  #tracing #looseparts #patterns #bowls #educatingkids #investigate… | Montessori activities, Montessori materials, Preschool fine motor

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350 likes, 3 comments - educating_kids on May 1, 2017: "Small wooden bowls and boxes are ideal for storing loose parts.  #tracing #looseparts #patterns #..."

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Loose parts in 2024 | Eyfs activities, Reggio inspired classrooms, Reggio classroom

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Feb 28, 2024 - This Pin was discovered by Maria Escobedo. Discover (and save!) your own Pins on Pinterest

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Allie Apels on Instagram: "Using loose parts and play dough, can you create your own dinosaur world? #reggioinspired #kindergarten #reggioclassroom #kinder #kin… | Playdough activities preschool, Dinosaur activities preschool, Dinosaur activities

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209 likes, 4 comments - joysofkinder on September 15, 2019: "Using loose parts and play dough, can you create your own dinosaur world? #reggioinspired #kinder..."

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Handwriting has never been easy to teach to kindergartners, but it is in the Common Core Standards that they learn how to print letters corr...

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Winner of the 2015 Brain Child Award from Tillywig & Toy Media Awards

Use loose parts to spark children's creativity and innovation

Loose parts are natural or synthetic found, bought, or upcycled materials that children can move, manipulate, control, and change within their play. Alluring and captivating, they capture children's curiosity, give free reign to their imagination, and motivate learning.

The hundreds of inspiring photographs showcase an array of loose parts in real early childhood settings. And the overviews of concepts children can learn when using loose parts provide the foundation for incorporating loose parts into your teaching to enhance play and empower children. The possibilities are truly endless.

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Loose Parts: Inspiring Play in Young Children

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Up to 90% off Textbooks at Amazon Canada. Plus, free two-day shipping for six months when you sign up for Amazon Prime for Students.

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Approaching Miriam Beloglovsky's Loose Parts for Children with Diverse Abilities is a bit like playing. First, I thumb through the book, relishing the many artful photographs. Then I stop at a photo spread that intrigues me, taking in the details. Looking at the pictures leads me to reading the captions, which leads me to reading the section. Then I am inspired to flip through again and repeat the process, finding a section that inspires me in the moment. Before I know it, I have read the entire book, not in logical order but following my heart. The joy of reading the book mimics the experience of Loose Parts. Loose Parts for Children with Diverse Abilities is for every child in every program because every child has abilities unique to themselves. Beloglovsky unapologetically uses a strengths-based approach that only play can provide, reminding us to focus on children's joy rather than assessing skills and striving for mastery.   --Mike Huber, MAed, author of Inclusion Includes Us, co-host of Teaching with the Body in Mind podcast, and Curriculum Specialist at St. David's Center for Child and Family Development, Minnetonka, MN

From her vast experience of Loose Parts, Miriam Beloglovsky has created a wonderful resource for educators of young children. With clear and beautiful pictures and concrete examples, she shows us how to expand and adapt Loose Parts to all children, including children with diverse abilities. She never dwells on what a child cannot do or a child's limitations but focuses on what ALL children CAN do in this marvelous celebration of open-ended play. --Sandra Heidemann, MS, coauthor of When Play Isn't Easy and When Play Isn't Fun

Miriam Belgovsky has given us an essential and inspiring illustration of how Loose Parts nurture the body and mind, and how their natural adaptability supports children's curiosity, creativity, and learning. Besides showing how to use loose parts to foster (and recognize) children's strengths, this volume functions as a fantastic introduction to brain development, sensory integration, critical thinking, and most of all, the intersection of inclusion, inquiry and equity. --Todd Wanerman, Early Childhood Education Mentor and Consultant, co-author, Including One, Including All: A Guide to Relationship-based Early Childhood Inclusion

Page after page, this artistry of Loose Parts is thought provoking and unapologetically bold in naming the call to action for early learning programs to create culturally sustaining ecosystems that promotes anti-racist and anti-ableist systems and initiatives. It does so while balancing the invitation and cultivation of imagination, collaboration, and a free flow and exchange of ideas blooming with possibilities that centers children's innate play narratives.  --LaWanda Wesley, EdD, former Director of Quality Enhancement & Professional Development, Oakland Unified School District

Miriam Beloglovsky, MA, is a professor of early childhood education at Cosumnes River College, where she has advised and guided students for over 25 years. She is the coauthor of the Loose Parts series and Early Learning Theories Made Visible .

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Loose Parts for Children with Diverse Abilities

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Loose Parts for Children with Diverse Abilities addresses the importance of play while providing appropriate accommodation to support young children with diverse abilities. Award-winning author and educator Miriam Beloglovsky advocates for play for play sake and invites early childhood educators ...

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Loose parts is a theory of play that empowers children with materials and objects that they naturally interact with in their environments. Play is fundamental, but empowering children with environments and tools we can further inspire curiosity, embody agency, and more. Let the kids play, let that play be with loose parts.

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The Loose Parts Play Book: A Special Edition for Families

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Loose parts is a theory of play that empowers children with materials and objects that they naturally interact with in their environments. Play is fundamental, but empowering children with environments and tools we can further inspire curiosity, embody agency, and more. Let the kids play, let tha...

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Hello,

Welcome to my author page. It's great to see you!

Let me introduce myself. I'm Angela Odusanya and I am a passionate early childhood educator, teacher, and children's author. I believe that children need play - REAL, open-ended play (without all of the adult interference getting in the way). I know that play is where the magic of learning happens. It's also where creativity, imagination, problem solving, and developing a resourceful attitude grows.

It was my years of experience in the classroom that inspired me to publish my first book, "Amelia's Loose Part Art," a story that encourages children to be curious about the world around them and embrace their unique creativity and interests. You and your children are going to love Amelia, and be inspired by her. I look forward to bringing you more books that expand on this theme very soon. In the meantime, enjoy engaging in loose part art with Amelia.

Well, it was nice meeting you, and I look forward to connecting again real soon.

Angela Odusanya

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When Amelia finds herself without her art box, she learns that art is inside of her, and supplies are all around her... she just has to look for them. Amelia is a young artist who takes her art box everywhere she goes. When she visits her grandma for a sleepover, she realizes she forgot her art sup...

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Loose parts. You have heard the term, probably in the context of promoting engaging play with open-ended, natural, and manufactured materials that can be manipulated with limitless possibilities. In this book, discover how a loose parts mindset promotes active learning in the early elementary classroom, enhancing curriculum and ensuring connection to state standards.

Offering inspiration and guidance on developing, applying, and teaching a loose parts mindset, the authors break down common myths of using loose parts for learning and walk you through getting started in the classroom and on the school grounds. Examine your role as an educator, address safety concerns, and explore how you might evaluate and assess loose parts in the classroom.

The inspiring photographs in this book showcase ways to apply the loose parts mindset to science, technology, reading and literacy, engineering, art, and math lessons. Use this book as a smorgasbord of ideas-pick and choose ones that work for you, your students, and your community. None of us is too old for a little loose parts play!

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Loose parts. You have heard the term, probably in the context of promoting engaging play with open-ended, natural, and manufactured materials that can be manipulated with limitless possibilities. In this book, discover how a loose parts mindset promotes active learning in the early elementary cla...

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Looks for Learning: Loose Parts is a full-colour, practical guide to inspire child-led learning that's linked to to current policy and the EYFS framework. As each child progresses through their learning journey, Early Years practitioners are expected to identify and understand what learning is taking place in every activity that a child is involved in. Laura England, creator of Little Miss Early Years , uses her wealth of experience as an Early Years teacher to explore the learning that takes place when a child is tinkering with loose parts, including tinker trays filled with nuts and bolts, pompoms and play dough to combine, construct and investigate with. Loose parts are natural or synthetic materials and resources that have no pre-planned use; they can be moved, combined with other resources, lined up, deconstructed and constructed again. They can capture a child's imagination, curiosity and creativity as they play with and manipulate them. This dip-in-and-out book is linked to the Characteristics of Effective Learning and presents case studies, real-life images and practical pointers to explore their use. With tips for setting up the environment to the adult's role in this child-led play, Looking For Learning: Loose Parts is ideal for all Early Years practitioners searching for accessible ideas for using loose parts in their settings.

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Looking for Learning: Loose Parts: Laura England: 9781472963017: Books - Amazon.ca

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Take loose parts from inspiration to implementation with this practical, easy-to-use loose parts manual. Loose Parts in Action provides specific instructions and a step-by-step process for infusing loose parts into early learning environments, to make implementing loose parts simple and approachable for educators in programs of all types.

Learn what goes into placing loose parts in the environment, introducing them to children, supporting their use, encouraging and sustaining interest, and taking care of loose parts. Prevent the unsuccessful implementation of loose parts, which can lead to the elimination of loose parts or prescribed play rather than deep, meaningful play. With interactive opportunities such as reflections, exercises, action plans, and assessment tools, this learning workbook teaches how to adapt loose parts to individual contexts. With Loose Parts in Action, anyone can bring the beauty and imagination-rich possibilities of loose parts to their program to spark children's curiosity and learning.

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Loose Parts in Action: The Essential How-To Guide

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Take loose parts from inspiration to implementation with this practical, easy-to-use loose parts manual. Loose Parts in Action provides specific instructions and a step-by-step process for infusing loose parts into early learning environments, to make implementing loose parts simple and approacha...

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Unleash the Magic of Nature's Playthings invites you to unlock the extraordinary potential of living loose parts: plants, animals, and even your bodies! is an invitation to step outside the ordinary, embrace the boundless wonder of nature, and witness the magic of learning.
Imagine a learning space infused with life, where curiosity thrives and imaginations bloom. Loose Parts Alive

the movements of a fish can spark STEM explorations.

sun-soaked leaves can inspire vibrant artwork and investigations of light and shadow.

a caterpillar's metamorphosis can nurture wonder and language.

Beyond blocks and buttons, discover how: This transformative guide, grounded in developmentally appropriate practice, Reggio Emilia's child-led explorations, Montessori's hands-on learning, and reverence for nature, empowers you to:

integrate living loose parts seamlessly and confidently.

embrace open-ended play, fostering critical thinking and creativity.

nurture a deep connection with nature in children.

witness the joy of child-led discovery unfolding organically.

Filled with field-tested activities and inspiring examples, practical tips, and stunning photography showcasing real-life implementation, Loose Parts Alive
Are you ready to ignite the spark?

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Loose Parts Alive: Inspiring Child-Led Nature Explorations

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Loose Parts Alive: Inspiring Child-Led Nature Explorations eBook : Gull, Carla, Wilhelm, Laura: Amazon.ca: Books