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
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