Do you remember being a child and playing with all the random rubbish you found lying around? Playing in a cardboard box; flying to the moon, driving a car or creating your very own hiding place. Or finding a stick and it became anything you could imagine; a sword, a wand, a dragon, the potentials were endless!
What is loose part play?
This is exactly what loose part play is. The playing with open ended objects. An open-ended object is something that isn’t set in its role. For example, using traditional toys a car will always be a car, a plastic castle will always stay in the set shape and design and be a castle. However, with loose parts, a glass bead could be treasure, it could be a cake, it could be a teeny tiny mouse, there is no limit to what it could represent. This is the same with larger loose parts; an old car tyre can become a seat, a garage, a balancing beam or whatever you can imagine it to be.
An Architect called S Nicholson originally coined the term. He recognised the benefits of loose parts and the opportunities they provide to children. We too at Squirrel Lodge see the potential they offer to children, their creativity and therefore their development.
Why we use them at squirrel Lodge? - Development
Playing with loose parts provides children opportunities to grow in each area of development.
It can help develop both fine motor (using smaller parts) and gross motor skills (using larger parts) this then leads to developing independence by supporting skills such as feeding themselves and dressing themselves (e.g. buttons and zips). Loose parts can continue to provide opportunity to develop independence by testing their own ideas, solving problems, learning to take risks and risk assess. They provide the opportunity for children to persevere which in turn develops confidence.
They can support social skill development by providing opportunities for teamwork and social play. This in turn can develop communication skills by them discussing their ideas or talking within their play. It can support the development of their imagination as well as supporting their role play and in turn support their willingness to explore different medias and techniques to create.
Loose parts can spark curiosity of the wider world. By providing different objects children become curious as to what they are, where they come from and how they work.
They can provide opportunities to support the development of numeracy (maths) skills by developing their understanding of size and categorising and their understanding of number and quantity. They can also support the development of Literacy skills. For example their understanding of stories and their structure which then transfer over to their play (e.g. in role play or small world play).
This can then be extended further by a knowledgeable practitioner who can then challenge ideas and provoke further thinking or linking in further ( higher ability) numeracy and literacy development, for example encouraging children to make a sign for their car built from loose parts or discussing what amount of money each stone represents.
So, as you can see outlined above, loose parts are amazing! They provide so much opportunity to children in comparison to traditional toys. Why not try introducing some at home if you haven’t already? You will be so surprised what children manage to create with them!
For any advice or for more information regarding this topic please feel free to contact us or if your child is at our nursery feel free to talk to a member of staff.
If you check out our Instagram page we have a highlights reel dedicated to this very topic!
Let us know if there is anything you would like to know about next!
Terrie and the Squirrels
X
For further reading
https://www.pkc.gov.uk/media/37604/Let-the-Children-Play-Loose-Parts-Play/pdf/Let_the_Children_Play_-_Loose_Parts_Play
Activity ideas
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/kirstinebeeley/preschool-eyfs-loose-parts-play/
Comments