Where Play Meets Potential
If you have followed us for any amount of time, you probably understand my passion (obsession) with loose parts play. If you are new here, welcome, you may want to read my post “Loose Parts Play for Infants and Toddlers” to see the many benefits and learning opportunities of loose parts.
To summarize, loose parts are open-ended materials that allow for critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity. These are life skills that enhance how we think, learn, and live. These are foundational skills to learning academics in a school setting.
Many people do not think loose parts are a safe idea for infants and toddlers, but that is simply not the case. You can use loose parts at all ages and stages of development. The trick is to find the right materials for their stage. You would not give an infant or toddler that likes to put everything in their mouth a small gem as a loose part to freely explore, but sponges, wooden rings, or cups might be the perfect alternative. Also, you may feel comfortable allowing your infant or toddler to explore these smaller parts with careful supervision. Of course, please only do what you feel comfortable with or you feel is appropriate for your child and family.
If you need ideas or examples of loose parts to use in play, be sure to subscribe and you will receive a list of over 100 loose part ideas for free. (Enter your information on the form at the end of this post).
Once you have chosen the perfect loose parts to use with your child, what do you do with them? This is often where people get stuck. I’m here to offer you just a few examples.
As always, follow the lead of your child. When you follow their interests and needs they are more apt to be engaged in play for a longer period of time and learn the skills they need. If you see them placing objects into containers over and over again, for example, then you may need to provide them multiple opportunities to explore that skill.
When in doubt just add water. You can use so many loose parts in water. Sponges, shells, corks,rocks, cups, measuring spoons, strainers, gems, sticks, lids, recycled containers just to name a few. When you put loose parts in water, children practice scooping and pouring, properties of water (sink, float, buoyancy, density, temperature, liquid, etc.), experimentation, problem solving, gross and fine motor skills, and language development.
Small world scenes can vary based on age and interest of the child. You can use animals, people, or car toys to use with the loose parts. You may want to use scarves, sponges, paper towel rolls, recycled boxes or containers, fabric scraps, gems, blocks, etc. Creating small world scenes can help with language development and imaginative play. Children may act out problems or solutions they have experienced in real life. They may also retell familiar stories.
Adding play dough to loose parts is so much fun and offers several opportunities for creative play and fine motor skill development. You can hide loose parts in the play dough for a “treasure hunt,” add play dough to building blocks, or you can put the curated loose parts alongside the play dough for a play provocation.
Adding loose parts to sand is similar to adding them to other sensory bases (ie. water and play dough). You can also add them to edible sensory bases like yogurt, oats, or Jello. Check out my Edible Sensory Beach to see how I made edible sand. Children will scoop, pour, post, talk, discover, and problem solve when playing with loose parts in sand.
Posting is a way to describe placing an object inside of another object. It takes fine motor skill and hand and eye coordination. It can be as simple as a ball in a box or basket to the more complex of a straw into a small hole. One of our favorite posting activities is posting large pom poms into a bundt cake insert. We even froze the pom poms for a new texture and sensory experience. Some other loose parts we have used for posting or stacking include recycled containers with or without lids, wooden disks, Koosh balls, other balls, straws into parmesan cheese containers, shells, and wooden rings on a repurposed coat hook.
Adding Velcro really works the fine motor strength of a young child. They have to pull apart or pull off small objects with a significant amount of work. You can also add Velcro to building blocks for a new kind of building experience.
Here we added Velcro to some game pieces. We played a few different ways. I hung it on the wall for some vertical play and I put it on the ground with a container so Ruby could pull the pieces off and post them into a container. For older children you can do a shape or color matching game with these same pieces.
Adding a frame to playing with loose parts encourages counting, filling a space, understanding perimeter, and supporting spatial awareness.
Treasure baskets are a great way for infants and young toddlers to explore the world around them. Treasure baskets are a fancy way of explaining a basket, box, or bin of random items with interesting colors, textures, and materials. They sometimes have a theme, but the goal is for them to be engaged with items they see everyday.
Light tables offer a whole new sensory experience when playing with loose parts. The best loose parts to use on a light table are ones that are colorful or translucent. Mirrors are also a great addition to a light table.
Mirrors are so fun to play with. For babies they love to look at themselves and are a fun material to use during tummy time. For older children they begin to explore the properties of light, reflection, and symmetry using mirrors.
Loose parts are a great way to create patterns. With babies and toddlers you can play alongside and model creating a pattern, while older children will be able to create their own pattern.
Taping contact paper or sticky tape to the wall and then letting your child place light loose parts onto the sticky surface allows for a great vertical play experience. Tape is such a fun addition to play. You can do a loose parts rescue by taping loose parts to the ground, a high chair tray, a table, a muffin tin, or the wall. You can also wrap loose parts with tape for your child to unravel. This is another great way to work those important fine motor skills.
Now you have gathered some loose parts play ideas. I am sure as you go along you will find many more ideas. Often times our own kids give us the best ideas. Observation and reflection are crucial steps in the process of learning. Good luck and please let me know if you have any questions.
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3 thoughts on “Loose Parts Play Ideas”
These are all such smart ideas! I also love that the loose parts don’t have to go to waste. 🙂
Thank you so much! I love to recycle and reuse things as loose parts, partly because I am frugal but also because I can see beauty and play potential in so many objects. In case you need a little more inspiration, sign-up to get a list of over 100 loose part ideas.