Loose Parts - Inspiring Play in Young Children

Today we received a wonderful gift from the lady who was really our Reggio mentor and massive inspiration in Singapore. It's called Loose Parts - Inspiring Play in Young Children. It is not only wonderful because it conveys its message predominantly in photos, but because the authors create a really useful framework for loose parts play with many mini case studies, interpreting and categorising children's intentions when they play with loose parts.

Here is their framework:

Senses

Colour
Texture
Sound

Creativity

Art
Design
Symbolic Play

Action

Movement
Transporting
Connecting/ Disconnecting

Inquiry

Construction
Investigation

Correlation

Caine's arcade - what kids will do with a resource rich environment

I was amazed when I first saw Caine's arcade, but not surprised - kids are amazing and with access to the right resources, they have a chance to show us that. Caine's story made me wonder whether the fact that his Dad just left him to it (because he was working) was key? If his Dad had designed and built with him, whilst it could have been great bonding, would Caine have run with this like he did? But we know (from Sugata Mitra's work as a good example) that encouragement can play an important role. Was that the role his Dad played that made this the perfect recipe for Caine? What else played a part?

Dear ISN kids, here's an idea from Indigo

Indigo started with a pencil drawing. Then she followed the patterns of her drawing with loose parts before picking up the pencil again to add more detail. We're not sure why she circled areas before then clearing away the loose parts.

Why do you think she circled areas before clearing away?
What do you like most - the loose parts drawing or the pencil drawing? Why?
Would you like to try this?