The role of loose part materials in enhancing children’s creativity

Vian al-jaf

ID:8635517

COMM1085

Instructor: Professor Claire

April 13, 2020

 Most children tend to want to be a part and make sense of the world that they live

in, and to do that they simply play whether it be with toys, with one another or with

nature’s resources. However, the most effective way in which they find belonging in

their world is by playing with natural or manmade objects, otherwise classified as loose

part materials. So, what type of materials can be used? a multitude of objects– the

options are vast, however, open-ended materials that children can manipulate and use

in a variety of ways works best. Loose parts can be further identified as items that fit the

following criteria: items that have no discernible play value, encourage cooperation ,

gross motor development, and have multiple uses, all of which can be used in

challenging children in creative and uncertain ways while promoting sensory

experiences. A significant benefit of loose parts plays comes from the fact that the

materials are not seen as precious or rare items – they are not expensive toys or sport

equipment (Logan, 2016, p.4) . Loose part materials often vary in many ways such as

having a wide range of colors, textures and sizes, however they share the feature of

being able to be introduced throughout a learning space or home to inspire play and

creativity, via recycling materials like empty containers, bottles, straws, and cardboard

tubes. Even building and household projects materials like remnants wood scraps,

magnets, PVC pipes, and ceramic tiles can be incorporated. Moreover, Natural

materials such as leaves, fresh and dried flowers, pinecones, sand, and shells are

utilized. Loose part materials exhibit the trend of having no specific function or goal,

they can be moved, arranged, designed, and taken apart. Additionally, Loose part

materials can be used in both outdoor and indoor settings (lipp,2019,para.7).

The concept was originally created in 1972 by the British architect Simon Nicholson who

describes the use of open-ended materials in a child’s environment, which he believed

was strongly linked to creativity and critical thinking later in life. As he mentions that “In

any environment, both the degree of inventiveness and creativity, and the possibility of

discovery, are directly proportional to the number and kind of variables in it “(Logan,

2016, p.2). loose parts play has been around as long as there have been children to

tinker with just about anything they can get their little hands-on.Now the concept is

widely applied in children’s educational settings around the world, Early childhood

Education programs provide environments and experience to engage children in active,

creative, and meaningful exploration, play, and inquiry (Ministry of education, 2007, p

23). It is helpful to think about the ways in which children’s play is affected by the

properties of natural materials as they provide children with endless opportunities to

improve creativity which is the ability to see things differently, think divergently, create

something unique, and solve problems. It involves the skill of creating something new or

combining things in new but meaningful ways” (Daly & Beloglovsky, 2015, p65).

Incorporating natural objects or materials (loose parts) into activities related to art,

design and symbolic playing have the ability to enhance creativity within children.

Art is heavily utilized in children’s play ranging from colouring, painting, drawing

to making sculptures or decorating. “Art with young children is often divided into two

categories: “projects” and “process art.” There are benefits to both. Projects encourage

following directions, spatial awareness, fine motor development, problem solving skills
and more. Process art encourages many of these skills while fostering independence

and creativity” (Logan, 2016, para1).

Loose part materials that are often implemented in ECE programs include: Popsicle

sticks, rocks, wood, leaves, and beads - these materials allow children to demonstrate

and apply the concepts of space, shape, lines, and form. The loose parts previously

listed may be included in art-related activities to increase indoor, and outdoor

environment play, though both environments enhance children’s creativity and produce

different outcomes (Daly & Beloglovsky, 2015, pp 66-67). Wood, leaves, and rocks are

most likely to be utilized in artistic activities when it comes to outdoor play however

these materials allow children to explore the following concepts:

Line is an orderly concept of objects, for instance, when children rearrange black and

white pebbles in order, they realize that the placement of dots/pebbles creates a path

of a point travelling through space, also known as a line. (Daly & Beloglovsky, 2015,

p71)

Space which is the area between or around objects, can be utilized by filling an entire

area or making intricate designs by only taking up a part of the frame, canvas, or

space(Daly & Beloglovsky, 2015, p69).

Form introduces the idea of 3D shape, which then allows children to create scenery

and structures from being exposed to form(Daly & Beloglovsky, 2015, p75). Which

makes room for children to use their own creative abilities to create their play space

rather than just being in a readily made area and playing with toys.
Pattern , this concept promotes kids to have the ability of following or creating order in

their day to day lives or in small tasks (Daly & Beloglovsky, 2015, p81). It further

improves the way kids create joy out of repetitive activities such as doing chores for

instance that then allow them to develop creative solutions to these chores such as

creating systems that do the chore for them from cloth hangers or string.

Motor skills are implemented when being outside, kids get to move around and be able

to develop motor skills, which in turn provide ways in which children can manipulate and

move objects such as wood, and leaves to create different images or games (Daly &

Beloglovsky, 2015, p81).

Loose parts are utilized by children to both design and redesign variations of

possibilities. Design is a creative way in which things can be illustrated through multiple

processes that promote creativity with the aid of loose parts. Children can illustrate their

design throughout their play via multiple processes (Daly & Beloglovsky, 2015, pp 84-

85). For example, they can bring multiple elements of design together to create new

toys that can be played with or even illustrate their ideas into the mode of design.

Emphasis tends to be as part of the design that most captivates children when they play

,which causes them to learn different ways in which they can portray their work in their

play or activities. For example, if a child is creating a flower or a rose from beads and

materials, they will use vibrant red beads or stones to emphasize the flower (Daly &

Beloglovsky, 2015, p91).

Movement is another process that can be applied, when using loose part materials in

design activities. Enhancement in children’s creativity in this process is done by allowing

children to physically move and place objects in positions that they envision. For

instance, as opposed to having them solve a puzzle, the movement that comes with

loose parts in the design allows the children more room to place objects where they

think is best - not just be limited to a piece that either fits or not (Daly & Beloglovsky,

2015, p93).

Harmony: this process allows children to continue similar and related loose part items to

form their design. For example, children using similar or related loose parts can create

harmony, like organic and natural materials including wood, pines, stones and logs.

These are all materials that create harmonious designs as they are of the same nature

(Daly & Beloglovsky, 2015, p95).

Proportion: children group loose part materials into categories of size, amount, and a

number of elements. For example, a child will create a sculpture using loose parts of the

same media and proportion to each other to achieve the desired creation (Daly &

Beloglovsky, 2015, p99).

Lastly, symbolic play or otherwise known as pretend play is “about creating a

world in which children are in control and can seek out uncertainty in order to triumph

over it” (Bertrand & Gestwicki, 2012, p40). Examples of pretend play are: being

superheroes, playing ‘mummies and daddies’, paying- shopping, dress ‐ups, flying to the

moon, tea‐parties, and playing trucks in the sandpit. Children incorporate loose part

materials into their symbolic play to imitate realities of their world and incorporate them
into their own interests and visions. These materials majorly support children when

partaking in the five stages of symbolic play which evokes the child’s creativity in

significant ways (Daly & Beloglovsky, 2015, p100). The stages are as follows:

Imitation is the first stage of symbolic play which consists of the adaptation and

regurgitation of views or phrases. This means that children will imitate what they have

previously heard or seen and include it in their play as actions or words - for example, a

child can pretend play and imitate a certain animal (ie. a lion, roaring) or impersonate

the sound of a car. (Daly & Beloglovsky, 2015, p103)

Sound partakes as the second stage , by which children incorporate sounds into their

play to add effects or emphasize an action, for example, when clanging an object, a

child may exaggerate this by creating sound effects or when a child plays with animal

toys, they will echo the sound of that animal. (Daly & Beloglovsky, 2015, p105)

In the third stage, words form the relationship between symbolic play and language

which are known to be highly interrelated (Orr & Geva, 2015, p3). When children

pretend to play, they tend to think out loud, especially when they are playing with other

children. Communication is what helps children create new ways to play by bouncing

ideas off each other and agreeing to an idea. For example, when children play pretend,

they can choose who plays what role, and how they arrange loose parts to create a

setting for their pretend play, thereby allowing them to think creatively in critical

situations later on in their life or even as children(Daly & Beloglovsky, 2015, p107).
Utilizing make believe objects comes at the fourth stage , when children combine loose

parts, they give each material an essence, or meaning. Giving a purpose to each

material can pull together a pretend play; for instance, when a child plays pretend, they

can symbolize and relate colours and shapes to meanings of objects such as water

being represented by blue or round objects, or grass and greenery being represented

by green and prickly or bushy objects (Daly & Beloglovsky, 2015, p109).

The fifth and final stage includes the functional use of symbolic toys, in this stage,

children will begin to use loose parts for their intended purpose or meaning. This

increases children’s ability to recognize regular objects and their uses. For example, in

a pretend play, a child can use a piece of fake grass for its intended meaning (Daly &

Beloglovsky, 2015, p111).

Overall, children incorporate loose part materials into art, design, and symbolic

play - with the appropriate space and time, whether it is an indoor or outdoor

environment, children will eventually always come up with creative ideas to enhance

their play, time after time. It is highly recommended for all families or caregivers to

expose their children to loose part materials to further familiarize their children with

creative ways to enjoy their play.

References:

Orr.E. & Geva, R.(2015). Symbolic play and language development. Infant behaviour

and development, 39. 147-161. Retrieved April 13th, 2020, from

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016363831500003X.

Daly, L. & Beloglovsky, M. (2015). Loose Parts Inspiring Play in Young Children. The

United States of America: Redleaf Press.

Ministry of Education in Ontario. (2007). How does learning happen?. Ontario, Canada.

Lipp, M. (2019). Art and Loose Parts Play. Retrieved April 13th, 2020, from

https://www.fantasticfunandlearning.com/art-loose-parts-play.html.

Logan, K. (2016, August 3rd). The magic of loose parts [Blog Post]. Retrieved, April

12th, 2020, from https://www.lund.se/globalassets/naturskolan/grona-

skolgardar/fortbildningsdagar-for-natverket-grona-skolgardar/green-grounds-

conference-2016/a09-kerry-logan.pdf.

Bertrand, J. & Gestwicki, C. (2012). Essentials (5th ed.). Toronto: Canada:Nelson