Loose Parts: Provoking Creativity and Wonder in Young Children's play (part 2)

In my previous post I spoke about the benefits of loose parts. During this post I will share some of my recommendations if you are starting out new.

It may be beneficial to create, with the input of the children and wider community, a play statement or policy as part of the approach to introducing loose parts play. The statement or policy will help create a shared understanding of play in the setting, and help new staff or prospective parents to understand that children have the right, the time, the place and the space to play on a daily basis, including outside as much as possible.

Following the sourcing of loose parts, and before they are introduced to the learning space, I would allow each class to take a session to explore the materials. You may even consider provoking student thinking by showing them a shortened version of the loose parts video

It would be great to develop some anchor charts with notes made by the teachers and students about the purpose (WHY) loose parts could be added as a place space, then allowing time for students to explore, take a few photographs of children exploring and use this as a visual reminder for each classroom. 

At the same time I believe that a set of essential agreements could be constructed by one or two classes together, then sharing these with other classes to add their own thoughts/input.  Students could also have some input into the location and storage of the items, but you may already have some ideas on this.

When introducing the loose parts to the outdoor space, I would start small and each week introduce something new, following student interests and the directions they are taking their play and ideas.

A loose parts provocation can consist of large or small objects, reclaimed materials, natural objects or commercially produced parts. It can be set up indoors or outdoors. 

There is no agenda, no task to complete, it is a question of standing back and observing how children interact with the range and mix of materials. Children can reflect on their play and communicate the meaning they gave to these open ended resources. 

Teachers then carefully observe patterns of schematic play and decide what more materials can be added to engage curiosity, interest and challenges.

‘Loose parts’ theory is about remembering that the best play comes from things that allow children to play in many different ways and on many different levels. Environments that include ‘loose parts’ are infinitely more stimulating and engaging than static ones. The play environment needs to promote and support imaginative play though the provision of ‘loose parts’ in a way that doesn’t direct play and play opportunities, but allows children to develop their own ideas and explore their world.

So in summary, rather than policing play, the role of the educator should be considered to: 

• provide an environment that has lots of play possibility 

• decide what materials/spaces will be available in an environment where children feel empowered to take control and direct play 

• involve children in the development of a minimum set of basic rules of conduct, especially relating to safety and mutual respect 

• allow children to lead their play and resisting the temptation to suggest activities or mediate in disputes, and only intervening when absolutely necessary

• observing closely to gain an understanding of what is happening – not just what children are physically doing but what is going on in their minds and relationships as they do it – and what the impact is of this on children 

• using this understanding to inform future decisions about resources, materials and spaces

• ensuring that children take responsibility for managing materials including tidying up and storage

Additional resources:

Alberta Council for Environmental Education

References:

Maxwell, Lorraine E., Mari R. Mitchell, and Gary W. Evans (2008). ‘Effects of Play Equipment and Loose Parts on Preschool Children’s Outdoor Play Behaviour’

Theresa Casey and Juliet Robinson (2016). ‘Loose Parts Play: A toolkit’

Loose Parts: Provoking Creativity and Wonder In Young Children’s Play (Part 1)

I am often asked about the benefits of ‘loose parts’ and the impact that it has on young learners.

In Early Years classrooms, play props, play materials, and manipulatives encourage social interaction (Quay, Weaver and Neel 1986), constructive play, and dramatic play (Smilansky and Shefatya 1990). In addition, children often play with open-ended play materials (e.g., cardboard boxes, pipe cleaners, and pieces of cloth) longer and in more ways than play materials with well defined intended uses (e.g., tea sets, dolls, trucks, and tool kits) (Bagley and Klass 1997).

The theory of “loose parts” first proposed by architect Simon Nicholson in the 1970's has begun to influence child-play experts and the people who design play spaces for children in a big way. Nicholson believed that it is the 'loose parts' in our environment that will empower our creativity.

So when we consider the following elements that will drive creativity and wonder in play, loose parts certainly has a voice.

-space, including flexible environments and open-ended materials

-time for uninterrupted and extended solitary and collaborative play

-opportunities to extend children’s current understanding through responsive interactions and interventions

In a play, loose parts are materials that can be moved, carried, combined, redesigned, lined up, and taken apart and put back together in multiple ways. They are materials with no specific set of directions that can be used alone or combined with other materials. Loose parts can be natural or synthetic.

In the outdoor environment we can provide an array of loose parts for use in play such as stones, stumps, sand, gravel, fabric, twigs, wood, pallets, balls, buckets, baskets, crates, boxes, logs, stones, flowers, rope, tyres, balls, shells and seedpods.

In my experience, I have seen the benefits of providing our young learners with access to these open-ended materials, not just for the sake of developing their creativity. Choice and ownership is certainly the game changer here, as students design, construct, select and implement their ideas.

Some of the other benefits associated to (Hyndman, Benson, Ullah and Telford, 2014) the playing with loose parts include:

-increasing levels of creative and imaginative play

-children play co-operatively and socialise more and loose parts facilitate communication and negotiation skills when added to an outdoor space (Maxwell, Mitchell and Evans, 2008).

-children are physically more active and curriculum outcomes occur through informal play with loose parts (Wagland, 2015)

Providing access to loose parts involves a certain change in mindset, such as allowing projects to be kept in a space that allows for continuous play, and not necessarily tidying up materials at the end of the day. 

Loose parts and associated resources must be accessible physically and stored where they can be reached by children, and as new resources and materials are curated and sourced, a dynamic space with unlimited possibilities starts to unfold.  Our young learners should also know that ‘loose parts’ are available anytime, whenever and can be used however, they wish.

This often involves having some essential agreement or 'preparing for the introduction’ of loose parts to be considered.  As educators, we must remember to regularly replenish and, following student interests, add materials to keep the learning engaging.  Of course, systems to allow students to manage and procure materials would certainly be one of my recommendations.

In my next post we will explore some considerations when
starting out with the 'loose parts' journey.

What are your experiences with loose parts and what was the impact on the learner?