Showing posts with label Small Loose Parts. Show all posts

Open Ended Resources for Imaginative Play

I am always busy searching through sites such as Etsy, Instagram and Pinterest for inspiration. From house design, to party planning and of course how to have more fun playing!!
I love to encourage Imaginative Play where possible. I spend longer looking through ideas than I probably realise. Yet it brings a positive impact to my little family as I am able to provide stimulating activities for them.

I have shared a post previously on Loose Parts Play and I still love all the colours and resources used there to this day!
It was on a bedtime search through Instagram where I came across a beautiful page, full of wonderful ideas that really captivated me.
It is a pleasure to welcome Tiny Creations today.....

Learning Through Play

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Early Years imaginative play Light table magnets role play science Small Loose Parts topic water beads

7 Activities for the Light Table

Hi my name is Martina and I run Crawl2explore Daycare in West Sussex, England.

I am always finding ways to encourage children to use their natural curiosity in their play.

When I was asked to do a guest post sharing ideas on using a light box in a setting I thought of all the years of fun my children have had with our light box which I purchased from TTS educational supplies.

The children continue to love it and adopt it into their play based learning on a daily basis.

I provide a range of materials to explore at the light table and the children enjoy providing their ideas too. Our lightbox has been used over and over in role play, sensory fun, building and educational activities.

Here we were matching coloured pipe cleaners and magnetic discs. This was a great activity exploring cause and effect and also learning about magnets:

We used dry orange slices, cut out insects and laminated vines to create a spring collage. This is what I love about Light Table activities as you can link it to any theme, topic you are covering aswel as thinking about the children's interests :

Light boxes can act as another tunnel into imaginary play. Wooden blocks become temples and Magnatiles become spaceships:

A spaceship about to blast off into space:

We recently had a Doctors Role Play Area in our setting and we used the light box to learn about X-Rays and bones in our bodies. This really brought the role play area to life, the children really enjoyed examining the X-Ray pictures:

Sensory play is great fun with a light reflecting underneath. Here we explored water beads in a glass box with the light box. The children enjoyed watching the different colours mix and the reflection from the light. We added a marble run and the children used water bottles to make the water beads roll down the run:

Here we had a rainbow blocks on the light box and a see through sheet over them with shaving foam. The children enjoyed making patterns, shapes, matching numbers and just exploring mark making:

There are so many different types of light boxes available to buy so its always best to shop around and see which one suits your home or setting best.

You can drop by and see what else we have been up to on Facebook and get more ideas for making the most of your light box at Crawl2Explore.

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Learning Through Play

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Open Ended Play Small Loose Parts

Open Ended Play

Small Loose Parts for Open-Ended Play

By Leisha Harrelson, Owner of Gingerbread Lane Play House, Maryland USA.

Gingerbread Lane Play House supports authentic learning experiences through a delightful play-based child care and preschool program adapted for young children, ages 3 to 5-years old. Children are given the freedom to play, discover and learn through child-led exploration and imaginative play, all in the comfort of home.

https://www.facebook.com/gingerbreadlanefamilydaycare

www.gingerbread-lane.com

(Editor’s Note: Small loose part play is recommended for children over the age of three-years old who no longer put toys and small objects in their mouths. You need to know your children well and closely supervise whenever young children play with small loose parts. Small loose parts play can be adapted for younger children by providing larger parts - objects that cannot pass through a toilet paper tube).

At Gingerbread Lane Play House, preschoolers have lots of opportunities to explore small loose parts in open-ended play. This type of play magically sparks children’s interest, imagination, creativity and learning.

Small loose parts play stirs the imagination and fuels self-expression that ultimately enhances the entire play experience by making play more complex, elaborate, dynamic and extended. Pre-literacy skills and mastery are gained in dramatic and creative play involving small loose parts.

Instead of telling a story, a child can build or create fanciful stories, ideas and structures by adding these extra elements. Playing with small loose parts can really become the ultimate learning experience by fusing together active interest, creative tinkering, and imaginative expression within the freedom of unstructured play.

Free and unstructured play with small loose parts also helps young children discover their world by learning about natural and man-made materials with different textures, shapes, colours, masses and other physical properties. This type of play fosters pre-maths and pre-science skills by allowing children to figure out different ways to order and classify parts by counting, sorting, stacking, grouping, matching and comparing, by creating patterns, designs and displays, and through modifying and adapting toys/structures that suit their whims.

What exactly are small loose parts?
Simply put, they are any small materials, objects or parts (natural or man-made) that can be manipulated in a multitude of ways during play. They need not be the same size, shape, color, texture or even the same sort of part. They can be a collection of different parts. They are considered parts or objects and not pre-fabricated toys, although some toys like animal figurine collections and construction toys like blocks and Lego’s can also be considered loose parts in play. Loose parts can be played with on their own, added with other loose parts and materials, added to toy sets and toy play and/or added to other elements like water, sand, clay, dough and soil. The handling of these parts alone can help improve hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.

Here are some fun examples of small loose parts: pebbles, twigs, pine cones, sea shells, plastic straws, craft sticks, pom-poms, chess pieces, sequins, buttons, flat marbles, wine corks, sea glass, napkin rings, nuts & bolts, acorns, seeds, feathers, dominos, wooden parts, toy wheels, lids, fabric scraps, ribbons, small ramps, thimbles, etc. They can be used to construct, create, manipulate, penetrate, move, frame, encircle, etch, decorate, design, adorn and embellish. Small loose parts can be used indoors and outdoors, with sensory play, water play, and even in conjunction with process art and sculpture. They can be set out in piles, displayed with other items, or organized in containers, trays, jars and baskets.

Small loose parts play also gives young children a chance to handle materials that they may otherwise not have an opportunity to play with or may have been limited to specific uses, times or places. Unlike more expensive toys, small loose parts may be readily available for free or can be purchased inexpensively, while providing hours of endless play possibilities. The main idea behind loose parts is that they can be used in more than one way in play; they are open-ended. This is what gives them value and their appeal in playful learning. It can be as simple as adding chess pieces to a block centre or twisting pipe cleaners and beads into dough or dropping a scoop of pebbles and plastic fish into water or pressing sea shells and shiny flat marbles onto a slab of clay.

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Open Ended Resources for Imaginative Play

7 Activities for the Light Table

Open Ended Play

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