The term “loose parts” is all over the Internet and early childhood world these days and for good reason. I have witnessed firsthand how the learning changed when we brought in natural loose parts! Loose parts are so full of math opportunities and problem-solving and vocabulary-building opportunities. So, what exactly are loose parts?

Loose parts are natural or man-made materials, with no set of instructions, that can be used alone or with other materials.  These open-ended materials can be moved, combined, stacked, taken apart and put back together, and most importantly repurposed.  

         When we speak of loose parts, we are looking for materials that will spark imagination and creativity. Outdoor natural materials would include things like rocks, shells, feathers, grass, leaves, pinecones, pine needles, and seeds.  Indoors, things like blocks, manipulatives, pouring devices like cups and funnels, buttons, play cars, people and animals, recycled materials like lids, boxes, paper tubes, envelopes; art supplies (popsicle sticks, buttons, beads, spools, etc.).  The list is endless and you more than likely have these materials already or can find them and you won’t need to purchase a single thing.

September is a fabulous month for collecting materials for future loose parts play.  We take nature walks almost daily and each child is equipped with a backpack for all their treasures that they collect along the way.  We often come home with buckeyes, acorns, dried berries, colored leaves, and who knows what else we may find! Loose parts that are collected by the child, spark beauty and joy in the eyes of the child. There are no directions on how to play with their newly found treasure, so this allows the child’s imagination to run wild! The child can use the acorn for soup, or an art project, or food for the stuffed animals.

If nature isn’t your thing, take a hard look at where your children play.  There is a good chance it will be filled with loose parts. If your child is into cars or ponies, start with that!  Remove the toys that aren’t used or played with. They clutter the mind of the child and they can’t stay focused on what they are creating! Yes! I am giving you permission to remove the majority of the toys that cover your home! Less is more! The child’s creativity and focus will change, I promise you!

Many teachers and parents will rush out and get baskets and fill the whole room with rows and rows of loose part storage.  A child walks in and dumps every single bucket, and walks away.  Maybe they were looking for their one red car or green pony.  Start small.  Take baby steps with loose parts!  Our friend and mentor, Bev Bos, always recommended change with the words, “Start in a corner!” The reason is, we create chaos the minute we upend the whole room and bring in new supplies. So start small, start with what your child is playing with, and start where their interest lies. Did your mother or grandmother have a bottom drawer in the kitchen that was full of “toys” to keep you busy while they prepared meals?  Chances are that drawer was full of cups and spoons, and random recycled loose parts!

So how many loose parts do we need? I once read that we want enough loose parts so no one is left waiting, wanting, or wailing! Some experts recommend five play pieces for each child.  So, if your classroom or child is very interested in dinosaurs, you need five for each child that gravitates to that area.  If every single dinosaur is in play on most days, you will want to add more.  Or add more elements that they are using with the dinosaurs.  Build off the interest that they are focused on. Think outside of the box!  Fabric is a great loose part that often finds its way into our block area for a river or lake, or to be added as clouds or a trail. Add shells or blocks or pieces of bark.  When I witness a play buzz happening, I sometimes add supplies close enough to possibly be noticed to add to their play.  Soon, this will not be necessary, but in the beginning stages of learning to play with loose parts, I think it adds to the creativity.

So where is the math? Mathematical concepts are created through their play with loose parts. You will begin to see deliberate patterns, sequences, and classifications by color, size, or type. Spatial recognition and intentionality of play will honestly have you shaking your head! I promise you, it is crazy! You will see sorting and separating, measuring, and logical classification. All of these are precursors for higher mathematical proficiency!

If you keep your materials available, loose parts outdoor play will continue into the winter months.  If the forecast calls for snow, be sure to grab out all of the sand toys as these make great snow forms, and you can’t reach them if they are frozen in the sandbox! Building a snowman’s face uses loose parts! Make your life easy and pack a sack while the weather is warmer and put it in a safe place.  (It took me a ridiculously long time to figure out this simple task!) We keep our aluminum bowls full of rocks, shells, and walnuts, and other loose parts ready for creative outdoor play. We use large “tree cookies” (See the picture below. This little girl is playing with “tree cookies”), or cookie sheets as a tray for each child to create their loose parts formations. This allows them to be picked up and moved and gives the child a frame for their work.  We also need to acknowledge their work in process and it may need to stay in place for a day or two. They will know and you will know when the play is complete.  I am often amazed at how quickly some creations come down and the oddness of things they want to leave up.  There is a lot of time invested in these masterpieces and it is important that we treat this time and energy with respect. These masterpieces are math.  They are manipulatives and problem solving and intentional risk-taking at trying out new ideas.  Take it slowly, but I beg you to try it.  You will never look back. It is a hot topic these days for a very good reason!  Let them play! 

You can find them here. http://www.safespaceconcepts.com/

Take a look at the page called “Tools for Discovery” and explore the wonderful materials they have that support early math learning.  I love the huge Tic-Tac-Toe board

and the cooperative arch building set.

Tic-Tac-Toe is a game that even very young children can begin playing.  They practice taking turns, recognizing the symbols X and O, and exploring spatial relations.  Unlike older children, Tic-Tac-Toe often ends with a winner, rather than a cat’s game, but that is OK.  In order to really master Tic-Tac-Toe children have to be able to see more than one aspect of the game at once, which is nearly impossible for young children to do. It is actually much more fun to play it with young children and observe how committed they are to completing a row of Xs or Os.

The arch building set requires a certain amount of cooperation between children, which in and of itself, is difficult.  This kind of arch is especially tricky because it demands an understanding of the “keystone concept.”  I bet you know a lot of adults who don’t understand this concept.  Anyway, I think this set will provide a lot of satisfying play in a classroom.  The  blocks are numbered which provides extra clues to how to assemble the arch.  You may find that the children can build it successfully horizontally before they figure out how to get it together vertically.

Take a minute to check out these cool products and so much more.  I am afraid to look at the prices so I am recommending these products even though I don’t know how much they cost.  I didn’t want the cost to get in the way of my delight with the products.

This got me thinking about limited budgets, limited space, and feeling overwhelmed by too many choices.  A lot of the manipulatives I have described over the past 100 or so Mondays, are really expensive.  Many of them are beautifully made and wonderful additions to any classroom, but may also be unnecessary and take up a lot of space.

How do you choose?  Which do you invest in?  The only way to truly consider this is to imagine yourself opening up your own program on a limited budget with only $100 to spend on math manipulatives.  Strip away everything you have, and which manipulatives could you not live without?  Which manipulatives have the broadest teaching and learning potential and which ones are limited?

What makes the list?

Alison suggested that I look at felt as an alternative to wood and recommended  a  website called Etsy to see several samples of handmade pretend food items.  I found so many wonderful examples of interesting food items that will both be familiar to children and novel.  I found breakfast sets, complete with pancakes and syrup, eggs and bacon, orange juice and tea.  There are pasta sets, sandwich sets, burger sets, cookie sets, tea sets… the list goes on and on.

As far as International and multicultural foods, I found lots of sushi and other Asian choices, and a few other limited options.  I was hoping for a full-blown Mexican set, some red beans and rice, perhaps a Gyros or two.  No such luck.  I did find a falafel set that looks fun…And this taco set

which is beautiful but not necessarily comprehensive if you want to have foods that look like the foods children see in their homes.

This got me thinking about the pros and cons of wood vs. felt in terms of durability and use.  I must say, the felt options are clearly safer for crawling babies and toddlers, as they can’t bop themselves on the head with these (or anybody else, for that matter), they are machine washable, and as versatile as all the other types.  The wooden sets are also beautifully made, can be wiped down, and will give you a nice goose egg on your forehead if thrown in just the right way.

All of these are great for encouraging early math concepts.  Most come apart and can be separated into pieces (the tacos above are made from several separate pieces; the shells, the meat, the lettuce, the cheese, etc., and children can assemble their tacos as they please).  They can be sorted, classified, counted, organized, and distributed.  Teachers can set up all sorts of play scenarios that require children to create relationships with the food items in meaningful ways.

I really liked this box of chocolates and can imagine all sorts of math play taking place if children had access to it.