Loose Parts – Thinking outside the box!

Often when using loose parts there are always the favourite go-to materials that educators like to use like gems, rocks and pine cones. The toddler staff were challenged to create a loose part tray that was focused more on sensory as opposed to materials that could be used to create compositions. Our toddlers have really been interested in the book “Going on a bear hunt” by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury. We chose to use this interest to create loose parts that could help them seek out the sensory experience of the obstacles found in the story. This basket of loose parts now became a way for the children to recreate the story as they new all the sounds of the obstacles as well as many other parts of the story. We easily could have found green materials for the grass, blue materials for the water and so on, however incorporating the sensory aspect into searching for materials made for a much harder but more exciting loose part search.

The Bear Hunt Loose Part Tray

I found the toddler staff were much more engaged in the search knowing that not just anything would do. Coming up with many different options for making mud challenged us to find the right texture and consistency that satisfied our sensory perception of mud. I crocheted white balls to make large snowballs that were soft and fluffy, the grass was made from silicon scrubbers that make an interesting sound when you manipulate them. The driftwood pieces were great for making the stumble trip and the children would either bang them together or on the floor to make the sounds and the gel bead bags are ice packs which we keep refrigerated to give the cold feeling of the water. Watching the children play with these materials was very rewarding. Seeing the joy and interest in the children’s eyes was worth all the time and effort we put in to discover materials that would be meaningful to the children. I think one lesson we learned is that loose parts can be anything, which can include making loose parts if you cannot find something that fits what you are looking for. How can you intentionally incorporate loose parts for your classroom that are not only used by children who creating, but also for those who explore?

Kim Moses

April 2019