Loose Parts Play
Today I want to tell you a little about loose parts play! If you have an older baby or toddler this will be especially interesting to you, but this can apply to younger babies as well, keeping choking hazards in mind.
What is loose parts play?
Loose parts are items that can be manipulated and used in any number of ways, in an open-ended manner. They are often small objects, natural or synthetic, that inspire creativity and exploration
What are some typical loose parts?
Natural items like rocks, sticks, acorns, leafs, shells, moss and pine cones are wonderful loose parts. There are also great toy companies such as Grimms and Grapat that make creative wooden loose parts (check out @thewoodenwagon for some of these toys). Loose parts can also include balls, fabric, pom poms, ribbon, beads, buttons, craft sticks, and more.
How do I incorporate loose parts play?
For babies, discovery baskets are a wonderful way to start loose parts play. Start with medium sized balls, fabric, ribbon, and objects from around the house like brushes and cups. Watch closely while baby inspects, mouths, and explores the objects. For toddlers who are no longer mouthing, you can begin with smaller objects like those listed above. Present your toddler with the objects in a basket or drawer organizer. This is a great station to include in your toy rotation or playroom.
As a rough test to determine if an object is a choking hazard for children under 3, take a toilet paper roll and cut it to be 2 1/4” tall. If an object fits inside, it is a potential choking hazard. Batteries, magnets, plastic bags, and balloons should never be used.
Why loose parts?
Giving children objects that inspire imagination and can represent anything they think of foster creativity, exploration, and invention. If you give a child a princess figure, they will tend to only play with that toy in a prescribed number of ways. However, if you give them a peg person (a small toy that looks somewhat like a person but has limited detail), suddenly that toy can represent any number of people or things— it could be a baby, a doctor, a superhero, a scientist, a mom, or even an animal. Open-ended toys and objects like these can also be manipulated in many ways—sorted, stacked, moved, dropped, gathered, etc.