Skip to main content

Loose Parts - Fine Arts and Science M/W/F AM Class

We have been so excited lately because the children have been exploring with loose parts in our classroom and it has been so interesting to see how each child uses them.  The children have constructed many unique creations with the parts.  Sometimes the children will take the parts over to the other areas in the classroom and add to the other activities they are participating in.  We have found them in the sensory bins, in the dramatic areas and a lot of time the children like to imagine they are cooking a variety of foods with the loose parts.  Their imagination is endless when it comes to pretending and improvising.  The children see the loose parts so differently than we do as adults and that is the total beauty of this activity.  Sometimes, it gets messy and we do end up finding pieces all over the classroom but we have to keep in mind that this is the actual process of the materials being moved all around the room and used in a variety of ways.



 
 
We have seen the children use the loose parts to create pictures, make elaborate sculptures and many patterns.  Faces, trees, flowers, houses, and animals are some of the popular creations to date.  The children also love to take the loose parts and just simply line them up or sort them out into an assortment of baskets.




This activity gives a child to think outside of the box, to stimulate their minds and encourages open ended learning. It helps the brain to develop mathematically, scientifically and creatively by discovery, experimenting and problem solving.  It also builds fine motor skills and gross motor skills.

One of the great thing about loose parts is there is no set directions to follow which empowers the child to be the direction.  This leads to curiosity and imagination all through using simple loose parts in our classroom.
 
Until next time
Deanna

 
 
 

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

4 Year Old M/W/F Class – I Hear…I See…I Wonder…

We began one of our circle discussions with a question for the children, “What would you like to learn, wonder or hear about?” Here is what they said:    “Skateboarding, Soccer, Perches” (Connor) “Bikes” (Taylor) “Going outside to see if I left my toy” (Jun)  “The Sun” (Jack) “Rollerskating and Swimming” (Daniella)"Skating” (Noel) “Ball” (Sofie) “Scooter and Tricycle” (Masaki) “Shoes” (Ashlan) “When you put something under a pillow you can find it” (Tia) “Soccer” (Kyle) From my list I noticed quite a few of the children were interested in wheels, so at our next circle discussion we looked closely at a scooter and a pair of roller skates – as well as the wheels on a long board. The conversation brought up more questions and answers, which the children confidently discussed amongst themselves. One of the questions was “What makes this a scooter?” The conversation followed with “The scooter has a handle and a brake” and “I know how to ride a long board.” ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Volunteering at Richmond Food Bank

Today was our last day volunteering at the Richmond Food Bank. I am so grateful we had this opportunity– it has been an extraordinary experience for all of us. I, myself, have been very lucky to work in a community where I have seen dedicated volunteers working countless hours for people and projects they believe in. In my own community centre, the staff devote extra hours for many events, all to help strengthen our community. From these experiences grew a desire within me to try to share this with our children. How can we make them generous with their time and energy for the good of others? How can we teach them to be giving people– people that think of others? Are they too young for these concepts? In my need to answer these questions, I sought to find a volunteer opportunity for them. I thought about many different ideas but the food bank always came out ahead. I was lucky enough to come across an open-minded and risk-taking individual– let's face it, preschoolers gett...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Love for Cabbage

Another day of working with cabbage-our prized cabbage that I babied throughout the summer. The cabbage that I saved from the demise of cabbage worms, watered, and surrounded with copper to scare away slugs. So, yes, babied. After all that care and love I was hoping the children would enjoy working with this gorgeous vegetable and like the taste of it. The coleslaw was a hit last week but would cooked cabbage get the same positive response? We assembled our ingredients for cabbage rolls and showed all the children. They smelled all the spices that were in the recipe and many of them loved the smell of the fresh garlic! They took great pride in recognizing onion, salt, pepper, tomato sauce and ground beef. I wanted to introduce them to another herb so we passed around marjoram, which many agreed smelled sweet. We pre-cooked the meat just so the children could work with the food without any cause for concern. The smell of the onions and meat simmering sparked the interest of many ...
Post a Comment
Read more