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
Loose Parts play; spelen met open eind materiaal
This loose parts recycled rabbit art project is the perfect low-budget Easter activity for your classroom or making Easter crafts at home!
Fabric Based Loose Parts add an artistic dynamic to explorations and creations with children. Click to get inspired to use fabric loose parts!
Loose Parts play; spelen met open eind materiaal
Loose parts encourages open-ended play, allowing full creativity from your children. Loose parts can be found in many places including outside and around the house. Download the full list of loose parts we often use and start collecting your own set of loose parts today.
Loose Parts Play has become extremely popular and rightly so, considering it’s great benefits! However what I really love most about this play is that it is easy and affordable to implement! I have gathered photos of examples of loose parts play and how you can use recycled items as well as items from nature. […]
Discover what loose parts are and why you need them in your classroom. Download a FREE list of over 150 loose parts resources you can use to set up age appropriate investigation areas and learning invitations to start loose parts play in your early years setting.
By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. I love loose parts. I love playing with loose parts and sharing loose parts with other educators. My hope is when adults mess about with loose parts that there will be…
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"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge."
Invitation to Create a Self Portrait with Loose PartsSelf portraits are actually a key part of learning and personal development. When they are creating a self portrait it allows the maximum amoun
Do you use loose parts in your home? They are not a Montessori concept. Montessori materials have a clear purpose and a control of error. Loose parts are simply open-ended toys and are often materials you can find around the home. Lots of our loose parts/toys have been inspired by the RIE approach, you can see a list of recommended toys and materials here. If you want to know more about the RIE approach, I have enjoyed listening to and reading Baby Knows Best. We are still using a lot of discovery baskets in our home too. Here are a...
Loose parts bring endless options and can create a stimulating play space for kids when you have little room. Here's a list of our 10 favourite loose parts
Constructie spel met kinderen; voorbeelden en ideeën
Regulars on my Instagram account will know that we are HUGE fans of loose parts play. I'm going to explain what loose parts are, why we love them, and how you can incorporate them into your kid's play...
"Grab our free printable pattern pages, grab some loose parts ad work on fine motor skills, patterning, creativity and more!
Children will love to use these face part images to learn about their emotions. Your .pdf (un-editable) file has 3 pages to print. They are already sized to suit rocks from 3 to 5 cm (1 to 2 inches). You will be surprised at all the different faces you can make with the 40 eye images, 11 noses and 25 mouths. If you would prefer the actual jpeg images that can be re-sized to suit your needs, it would be better to purchase the clipart images I used to create this file. You can purchase the jpeg clipart bundle here at my Teachers Pay Teachers store. I used these photographic clipart images of face parts to make some Build-a-Face Stones to help the children in my class better understand and discuss their feelings. In your download, I’ve included the instructions on how to make the stones. You will need Mod Podge or a similar glue/sealer medium along with a paintbrush and some flat stones to make them. It wouldn’t be necessary to use the images to make the Face Stones like I did. The images could be cut out and laminated to make little Build-a-Face Cards and you could even adhere a magnet to the back and build faces on magnetic boards. I do love the Face Stones because I now have another basket of loose parts that I can add to other play-based learning areas in my room. I’d love to see what the children do with the Face Stones in the Block Area. They would also make a wonderful addition to the sand tray or the playdoh table and even as a prompt or stimulus at the Art and Writing tables. Knowing how to describe and discuss your emotions is an important part in the development of self-awareness and self-regulation. Just as importantly, learning how to recognise and acknowledge the emotions of others is the first step in the development of respectful relationships. This Build-a-Face activity was very popular in my classroom. I must admit, it was a little freaky but the children laughed and giggled their way through the construction of numerous facial expressions. I loved how it provided a hands-on opportunity for the children to explore the facial expressions depicted in various emotions. ********************************************************************* Stay in touch with My Teaching Cupboard Find me on Facebook. Find me on Instagram. Find me on Pinterest. Find my blog HERE. Follow my store by clicking the ★ under my store name. *********************************************************************
If you are new to loose parts play it can be a little daunting to decide where to start. I decided to begin in a location that naturally inspires creativity while providing a plethora of free materials: the outdoors! In this loose parts play series post, we'll explore how you can enhance outdoor play with loose parts.
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 treasure to add to my loose parts lists. In case you are like me, I have compiled a loose parts list for all the best finds...and the list will continue to grow as I find more!
Sand play dough paired with loose parts.
Kids of all ages will love this fun, crazy faces, loose parts activity, using these free printable face parts cutouts.
Natural sand classroom labels 72 labels for the Maths resources and open-ended natural objects. Downloadable pdf to print (& laminate) Provide a communication-friendly environment with these lovely labels. The children in your class will be able to access tidy-up time with ease with one label on the shelf and another hole punched with some jute string on a basket or pot. The photographs alongside the text are great for supporting with early reading too. Natural sand labels for loose parts, play dough, small world etc. coming soon... Natural sand maths resource pack also available including number lines, part part whole, subitising, clocks & more! These resources have been created by myself @awe_and_wonderful, please do not share or distribute. There is an editable bundle pack in my etsy shop should you wish to change the font or create additional labels. Follow @awe_and_wonderful on instagram for inspirational teaching ideas. Many thanks x
Building with sticks and playdough is a fun, inexpensive way to pass the time, develop fine motor skills, and foster creativity. My
“Have you ever noticed that if you leave old junk lying around, kids will almost inevitably play with it? Whether it be old cardboard boxes, wooden pallets, pieces of wood, old tires [sic], bits of rope or string, kids will use their imagination and ingenuity to make something. This may make your garden look like a junkyard sometimes, but the experience for the kids is invaluable and it will keep them occupied for hours. Don't try and direct the kids in their play, just let them get on with it.” Nicholson, S, "How Not To Cheat Children: The Theory of Loose Parts", Landscape Architecture 1971. My children love using loose parts. We use very few actual "toys" in our play, as the majority of them have quite limited uses and once they've exhausted those uses, my children generally lose interest. Instead, I prefer to buy and collect open-ended materials that can have a variety of uses, only limited by my children's creativity. Children's desires to use loose parts are often demonstrated through the classic example of them being more interested in the cardboard box that a toy came in, than the toy itself. It allows us to see a child's need to be creative, to think "outside the box," to experiment and to control their play and learning while adapting it to their own interests. Little fingers also love little things. Bits and bobs and trinkets and treasures. Usually with younger children, people assume that anything they can fit in their mouth is too small, a choking hazard and should not be played with. However, I think that so long as there is adequate supervision, this is not always the case. Aside from the development of physical skills, such as fine-motor, hand-eye coordination, etc., children can learn so much from these real life objects that they are able to manipulate and use in a large variety of ways. Of course loose parts don't need to be small items. They include any item that can be used in many different ways. From items in nature such as sticks, sand, rocks, shells, leaves, to junk items, sports equipment, recycled goods and so much more. The way that my children play and interact with loose parts outside and inside differs due to the different materials and space available. Below are some examples of the loose parts that we are currently using for our inside play. From top-bottom, left to right we have pictured: Large plastic buttons perler beads shape blocks (S) wooden cubes glass stones pattern blocks (S) mini erasers matchsticks felt shapes foam numbers river rocks different sizes sticks (S) seed pods small white pebbles coloured glass jellybeans marbles shells wooden numbers pom-poms circles and semi-circles (S) small coloured wooden disks (S) recycled bottle tops Q-tips/cotton buds pony beads Most of these items can be purchased from $2 shops, found around the house or collected from nature. The items with an (S) next to them are part of our Spielgaben set. You can read my review and thoughts on Spielgaben and good quality educational toys here. There aren't any rules about what you can and can't use and it is good to keep adding new materials and mixing things up. The same materials can be used in so many different ways by combining them with various other materials to produce different results each time. I tend to store most of these items in cheap or recycled plastic container that are stackable. I also use things like recycled coffee jars and even vases to keep our loose parts out of the way but easily accessible. Below you can see just a few of the many ways that my children use these loose parts for play and learning. Many of the pictures come from our Instagram account where I often share our loose parts play as it's happening. Some of the pictures I have written posts about and have provided the links for you to check them out in more detail. Muffin tray, divided paint pallet, spoon, tongs, glass stones, shells and seedpods. Shape sort and count with 3D shapes, paper and pen. Marbles and an ice-cube tray Recycled bottle tops and coloured cupcake liners Pom-poms, glass beads, tongs and plastic glasses. Colour match, sort, count and number writing with 3D shapes, coloured paper, plain paper and markers Miniature erasers Playdough, pipcleaners, craft sticks, animals and plastic cups. Invitation to play. Threading patterns with playdough, skewers, 3D shape beads. Glass beads, water, medicine syringe, tongs, plastic containers. Designs using pattern blocks, curved lines, straight lines etc. Make your own playset using loose parts from around your house Enticing literacy. Making and writing words. Straight lines, curved lines, nature flash cards, paper, markers. An invitation to play and learn with numbers and natural materials. Construction building with blocks and tape. Matchsticks, plastic bears and playdough (in the other side of a divided water table). Coloured wooden pegs, bowl, spoon. Which loose parts are favourites with your kids? Happy playing, Debs :) {Disclosure: I have provided the link to the Spielgaben site for your convenience as part of a paid ambassadorship with Spielgaben. All opinions in this article, as always are my own} Look where else we are. Do you play with us here? :) New Here? Subscribe to get all activities sent directly to you Enter your email address: Delivered by FeedBurner
How to promote early learning, story retelling, letter recognition, name recognition and more through loose parts play. By combining literacy and loose parts play preschoolers and kindergartens can engage in meaningful hands-on play as they develop early reading skills.
Learn all you need to know to many your own custom set of wooden loose parts! From where to look for pieces to how to pick your colors and more!
Our little Stompers' imaginations and creative energy flourished during our cold and wet February. They filled their time with us by exploring, socialising, climbing, jumping and balancing, with an energy that is always surprising to us no matter how challenging the weather is. I heard they were making apple pie in the wheel barrow....Yum! See you in April. Thanks for Stomping by!
