Loose Parts Play on a Budget

Loose parts play theory was introduced by an architect named Simon Nicholson (1971). He defined this as “any open-ended materials which encourage creativity and exploration in children.” These resources can be both natural or man-made and the opportunities are therefore endless. What is important is that these parts are open-ended and can therefore be used in a variety of ways.

Loose parts play does not have to entail spending lots of money on resources. Of course there are beautiful loose parts play resources from the likes of Grimms and Tickit as seen below, however not every family has the budget, nor wants to spend on these types of resources.

We currently do not have any of these kinds of loose parts resources in our home (although they are most definitely on our wish list)! However, that does not mean that attractive and engaging loose parts play does not happen. Instead, I look for inexpensive items and household recyclables to engage my children in loose parts play.

Materials

There are lots of materials and resources you can find around the house, in everyday recyclables, in charity shops, and outside in our natural environment. I also like to shop around for inexpensive items in craft shops that can double up to be used in both our arts and crafts and our loose parts play.

Below are the materials I used in this set up:

• Different sized and shaped stones
• Different sized and coloured buttons
• Rainbow pom poms of differing size
• Coloured wooden craft sticks
• Coloured bottle lids
• Fruit pouch lids
• Small bowls
• Cardboard toilet and kitchen roll tubes
• Muffin tray
• Old cupcake tray
• Ice cube tray
• Small measuring cups
• Pincer tools

What I love about this type of play is that the opportunities are endless and the type of loose parts you use can be changed regularly depending on the recyclables you may currently have, what you find outside dependent on season, and what you may come across in charity shops. It is also a good idea to have a look on Facebook Marketplace, as items that could be used are often given away for free.

How loose parts play supports development

There are so many benefits to this type of play, I have highlighted some of the most important in reference to the EYFS below:

Physical – Fine Motor. Develops finger and hand muscles when small parts are picked up and manipulated. The use of tongs or pincer tools develop these skills further.

Mathematics. There are endless opportunities for sorting into groups, categorisation, colour recognition, counting, comparing and ordering and patterns.

Literacy. Endless, open-ended opportunities for play, including imaginative small world play, allows for the extension of vocabulary.

Communication and language. Children will practice their communication and language skills as loose parts activities allows the children to create stories, talk about designs they have made, express what they are creating or role-play.

Expressive arts and design. Beautiful pieces of art can be made using loose parts and these can be adapted and changed as the child’s play progresses. Children can also use loose parts during small world play which can help develop their imagination, creativity and language skills.

In addition to the above, loose parts play is fantastic for reasoning and problem solving, increases natural curiosity, enhances cognitive skills and increases focus and concentration.

How we played

I find it really interesting to watch and observe children as they interact with loose parts play. You can learn a lot about what a child is interested in and what stage of development they are in through observation of play. It also helps you, as a parent, to change the activity next time, dependent on what your child engaged with the most and those they played with the least. Changing the types of loose play on offer to the child also increases their interest and allows for different play exploration experiences each time.

My daughter’s interest was mostly interacting with the buttons and placing these in other larger containers, such as the picture above. She enjoyed using her pincer grasp to pick up the buttons and add them to the empty cupcake tray. She also liked to drop the small parts through the cardboard tube and reveal them at the bottom. It was interesting to see that she enjoyed separating the loose parts at the end of the play and returned them to the correct bowls, which made for easy tidying up too! 🙂

I hope you have seen from this post that loose parts play does not need to be expensive and offers endless developmental opportunities for your child. I would love to hear your ideas and what loose parts you’ve included in your play.

For more play and development ideas, you might like to read: https://theeducatormum.co.uk/how-to-set-up-a-three-little-pigs-tuff-tray/