Jul 27, 2025
Loose parts are thought to play a big role in how neural networks form in the brains of very young children because they stimulate the senses. When children play with interesting, open-ended materials, they practice focusing, paying attention, and noticing important details. These early skills are the foundation of later learning.
The principle of loose parts is also underpinned by beliefs about the competency, skill and creativity of children. They can cater for all of the interests, strengths and cultures of diverse children, and children can create environments that suit their current skills. In practical terms, using loose parts in the curriculum also encourages the reuse and recycling of objects.
With young children, teachers’ interactions may be distracting, so consider a more unobtrusive presence.
- Give children plenty of time to explore the properties of loose parts and experiment with different possibilities, which leads to more complex play.
- Observe children and be intentionally focused on the child (with eyes and mind), to discover their current learning interest, level and needs. Try to identify children’s ideas, theories and interests in using loose parts, and look for patterns of action and behaviour (schemas), especially with infants and toddlers.
- Model appropriate play for children who are not showing initiative in using the materials. You might discreetly offer children alternative materials, such as a smaller ball if they are struggling to fit a larger ball down a tube. Encourage place-making such as making houses, dens, shops, with paths, furniture such as seats, and smaller items. Encourage children to add to these over a period of time.
- Allow children to develop their own ideas, support their observations, discussions, explorations and meaning-making, and respond to requests for support. Offer children opportunities to move loose parts around the play areas and be supportive when they invent new uses for loose parts.
- Reorganise materials when they become muddled to make it easier to see what is available and to suggest new play ideas, and encourage children to help sort objects back into their containers at the end of play to encourage early mathematical concepts as well as language development. Ask questions like ‘Can you find the blue/big shells?’ and ‘Can you make sure the tins are empty?’
https://tewhariki.tahurangi.education.govt.nz/he-kohinga-t-karo-m-te-ako-play-ideas-for-learning/5637214328.p
