The morning sun is warm and bright. We start our day outside and the children have all arrived. T, M and A are all riding on bikes. Around and around the bike track they ride. Confidently, they ride fast going up and down the ramp. I am sitting on the bench beside the bike track watching them. As T comes by me, he uses his feet to brake and says enthusiastically, "We are going on a trip!"
M comes by next and mimics T, "We are going on a trip! he calls out. A stops by next and quietly states, "We are going to the grocery store." "Great!" I respond to all three. "Have fun!"
Later in the afternoon T, M, A and A D-O are playing together in the climbing room. They all ride in the wooden boat together, two on each side. I hear laughter and chatter as they rock up and down. Then they get off the boat and T announces, "We are going on a trip!" "Where are you going? I ask him. He pauses for a moment before answering. "We are going on a hike!" he calls out happily with a big smile on his face. "A hike sounds fun," I say to him.
I notice that A is sitting to the side working on the zipper of the back pack she is holding. As she works away I say to her, "Are you going on a hike too and do you need some snacks in your backpack?" She nods and responds with a "Yes!" and her face brightens with the idea. "What snacks do we need?" I ask. T shouts out almost immediately, "Oaty Chomps!"
"Okay, let's go find some Oaty Chomps. We walk onto the main playroom and the other children decide they need backpacks and so they all run off to find one to match A's. We only have three total, so I offer M a basket which he accepts happily. Out of a block basket I pull out four matching blocks and ask the children if these are Oaty Chomps. They all agree they are and I give them each one.
The children are all able to comprehend that we are pretending and they put their block Oaty Chomp to their mouths and pretend to eat.
Loose part are open-ended materials that children can manipulate, move, combine, and transform in various ways to create their own play scenarios. They encourage creativity, problem-solving, and exploration without a prescribed purpose. Examples include natural materials like stones, leaves, and sticks as well as man-made items like fabric scraps, blocks and containers.
Loose parts don’t have a single, pre-determined use. They can be anything a child imagines them to be.
From Simon Nicholson’s theory of loose parts
Early Learning Framework
Learning is not an individual act but happens in relationship with people, materials, and place. All aspects of children’s learning and growing are interconnected and overlapping. Page 65
Children construct meaning as they engage with materials, other children and adults, the environment, the community, and the world. Objects, space, place, rhythms, rituals, gestures, sound, children and adults – these are interconnected and participate in the interactions and inquiries that emerge in early care and learning spaces.
Page 75
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It seems like T really connects with his peers today, starting
early in the morning with bike riding and ending later in the day with a
hike. He can share his lived experiences
of “Going on a trip” with his friends and they are able to relate and join in
his thinking and learning. All the
children are able to follow T’s lead and engage with loose parts and in
imaginative play which brings joy and connection to all of them.
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