Ditch the toys today and invite your children to get create with loose parts!
Do children need toys?
I sometimes daydream that if I could turn back the clock to when my children were babies I’d have No Toys policy.
Not no play, or no things to play with, but no (or at least very, very few) store bought toys.
Do children need toys?
Today’s theme in our At-home. Screen-free activities programme is all about Loose Parts.
Read on to find out what they are, how to use them, and join in with the play experiment.
Introducing loose parts
What would happen if you switched out all, or some, of your children’s toys and replaced them with ‘loose parts’?
Loose parts simply means moveable materials that children can use in their play.
They might be bought materials, upcycled from the recycling bin or found natural objects.
There’s a printable list of some loose parts ideas here, but really anything goes:
:: boxes
:: feathers
:: marbles
:: wrapping paper
:: fir cones
:: water
:: sand
:: twigs
:: hats
:: drinking straws….. anything and anything safe to play with is included.
{Sticks, fir cones, conkers, leaves, bark…}
Through this kind of free play children are really building their creativity.
They’re using what they have and what they already know, and combining that to create a whole that’s greater than the parts.
Just like Einstein, Da Vinci and Jobs.
Loose parts and free play in childhood develops the creative genius of the future!
{potato masher, metal spoon, balti pot, paper plates…}
How to use loose parts in play
You don’t need to think about how the children might use the materials – leave that to the kids.
Provide the loose parts, step back and let the children play.
They might surprise you with their imaginations and create things you would never have dreamed up!
Click through to read more about free play with loose parts, read about my Magic Three theory and to print the poster of loose parts ideas.
{paper rolls, seed pods, wooden tiles, a pumpkin, pegs…}
Join in with the loose parts play
Are you in for the challenge? Can you swap some of your child’s toys for loose parts today and see what happens?
You might set out a treasure basket with a few items from the kitchen cupboard for your baby.
Or add in some natural materials like twigs and pebbles to the train set.
Or put some bottle tops and matchboxes in the dolls house.
Mix in buttons with home made play dough.
Or set out a table full of a selection of loose parts and see what game them come up with. Anything goes!
More at-home, screen free activities for children
Follow long with our programme of at-home, screen free activities for children here.
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