The Power of Loose Parts
A Barbie doll can only ever be a Barbie doll, right?
But a wooden peg doll can be a Barbie, an astronaut, a Mummy or Daddy, a teacher, a supermarket checkout person, a king, a gardener, a pilot, a nurse… the list is endless.
The same goes for the plastic slice of cucumber that can only ever be a plastic slice of cucumber. A conker, however, well, I won’t bore you as I’m sure you’ve got the idea already.
Loose parts are basically a quantity of an object. That’s it. I prefer natural objects as you’ll gather from looking at my photos and here are some examples which are free or very cheap to buy.
Early Years is all about fostering children’s independence, communication, and choice. Having a classroom full of loose parts rather than pre-defined resources does just that. It will promote a purely child led narrative which will leave you beaming with pride (and also thinking, why didn’t I think of that!)
It will also mean your classroom is packed full of resources that can be used across ALL areas of learning, won’t cost the earth (if anything), and which can be replenished easily.
Loose parts can be moved, carried, combined, redesigned, lined up, taken apart and put back together. They support the development of coordination and balance. They are stimulating and engaging and support the children develop their own ideas and explore their world. Who wouldn’t want that?!
Health Warning!
Loose parts = Lots of parts! There is often a lot of clearing up to do and this is where your enabling environments come in. Your storage is your saviour! I like to use plastic fish bowls from Poundland. I drill a small hole near to the top and use thin cable ties to attach my labels, et voila!
Theory
The theory of Loose Parts is nothing new. It was first proposed in the 1970’s by Simon Nicholson who believed in their ability to empower creativity. Loose parts theory is about giving children the best opportunity to learn through play by giving them things that allow them to play in many different ways and on many different levels. Loose parts are infinitely more stimulating and engaging than static ones.