I wrote this for the lovely Veronica Green of Ronnie's Preschool for her newsletter ....
I have been a childminder now for over 10 years and it has been an ever-evolving role, I have learnt so much from the little people that come into my life every working day. I have had many aha moments; you know those moments where you stand back and feel a little spark in your belly as you see the learning unfold in front of you. Although I have had many enlightening moments in my working day, one that stands out for me came about with my own children and their cousins, it was a few years ago now …
It was the weekend, and my family and I were visiting my brother in law. We had five children with us, the youngest being 2 years and the oldest 8.
When we got to his house, I started to think that the next few hours maybe a bit of a challenge. How were we going to entertain these energetic young children in a small cottage with a very small garden that belongs to a single, outdoorsy kind of guy, who doesn’t own a TV, hasn’t got wifi, hasn’t got any children of his own hence not a toy, pencil, lego brick in sight? Well, let me tell you, those children had other ideas, in his conservatory he had stacks and stacks of round wooden disks and wood offcuts that he used for his log burner, when I say stacks, I mean floor to ceiling, towers of them. A couple of the older children spotted them, you could see the glint of curiosity their eyes, well that was it, the magic unfolded right before our eyes.
They grabbed armfuls of them, the little ones followed and then the fun began. Those children played and played with those disks. They made up games, who can build the tallest tower, who can roll the disk the furthest, who can spin it the longest, who can throw the disk in the bucket, the play was just limitless. After their games, the creativity took a step further and they started building and creating, we had cars and bat mobiles but I was especially blown away by a train that they built, I’m so glad I managed to get a photo of it. I had only just started consciously using loose parts in my setting at this time and I was becoming familiar with how they ‘worked’, so on the journey home, it just got me pondering, or reflecting even, at what actual learning those children gleaned from their play that afternoon. I realised that those pieces of wood and the play that ensued unlocked their imagination and creativity more than any iPad or ‘toy’ ever would. They were learning about teamwork, collaboration, persistence, balance, structure, cognitive skills, critical thinking skills, time, measurement, motor skills, risk-taking but above all they were just having oodles of fun. So, loose parts, aren’t they just wonderful? I have used loose parts for a long time now, but I think on this day I first discovered the magic of the learning that loose parts can create.
Needless to say, the childminder within me, had to bring home a big bag of those disks and wood offcuts to use in my setting.
Along with the children, I have benefitted aplenty from loose parts. I have learnt about ‘standing aside and leaving room for learning’, not just the children’s learning but mine also, the quality of observation, and also the need for reflection.
I have discovered which children are the leaders, the artistic ones, the experimenters, the thinkers. I have learnt to trust, to let children lead the play knowing they will take ownership of their learning.
My collection of loose parts has built up over the years. We have shells, pebbles, corks, sticks, pegs, pom poms, fabric flowers, fir cones, beads, bamboo tubes, cardboard tubes, wooden cookies, buttons, feathers the list is endless.
We use them lots to enrich play, we add to playdough, use them outdoors in the sand kitchen, in the kitchen area, for transient art, mathematical concepts, literacy, building, they always have a place in our play. The benefits of loose parts are endless, they have not only enhanced the children’s learning they have also enabled me to evolve into a reflective and thoughtful practitioner.
