Walk into any high-quality early years classroom in Canada today, and you’re likely to find baskets filled with buttons, sticks, pinecones, fabric scraps, shells, tubes, lids, blocks, recycled materials, and an assortment of everyday objects that look surprisingly… ordinary.
Yet when placed into the hands of children, these simple objects transform into castles, forests, rockets, villages, oceans, inventions, stories, and entire worlds.
These materials are known as loose parts, and they have become one of the most powerful, research supported tools in modern early childhood education. They support inquiry based learning, play based learning, emergent curriculum, STEAM exploration, outdoor learning, creativity, language development, and social skills.
Loose parts allow children to think flexibly, express their ideas, build, create, sort, compare, experiment, design, invent, and problem solve at a level that goes far beyond most commercial toys.
This blog explores:
Let’s dive into the magic, science, and pedagogy behind loose parts.
The concept of loose parts was introduced by architect Simon Nicholson in 1971. He believed that children are far more creative when their environment contains open ended, moveable materials.
Nicholson argued 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.”
In early childhood settings, loose parts are materials that can be moved, manipulated, combined, redesigned, taken apart, and put back together in endless ways.
Loose parts are not toys with one fixed function. Instead, they invite imagination and experimentation.
Loose Parts Can Be:
Natural
Recycled
Household Items
Commercial Loose Parts
The beauty of loose parts is that they can be gathered locally, found outdoors, or purchased affordably. They require creativity more than financial investment.
Loose parts matter because they give children:
Children are naturally curious. Loose parts feed that curiosity. Unlike toys that “tell” children what to do (push the button, the lights flash), loose parts ask:
“What can you do with me?”
This shift is huge. It moves children from passive to active learners.
Across Canada Ontario’s HDLH?, Alberta’s FLIGHT, British Columbia’s Early Learning Framework, Nova Scotia’s Early Learning Curriculum Framework, and others all emphasize:
Loose parts align perfectly with all these foundations.
|
ECE Principle |
How Loose Parts Support It |
|---|---|
|
Play-based learning |
Children build, experiment, and create through open-ended play |
|
Inquiry and discovery |
Loose parts spark exploration, questions, theories, and experimentation |
|
Holistic development |
Supports cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and communication skills |
|
Inclusive practice |
Suitable for all ages, abilities, languages, and cultures |
|
Indigenous perspectives |
Respect for natural materials, land, and connection to environment |
|
Emergent curriculum |
Children’s ideas guide lessons and projects |
|
Documentation |
Loose parts produce rich visible learning through photos, notes, and portfolios |
Loose parts are not a fad; they are deeply rooted in the foundations of quality early years education.
Loose parts support the development of:
Children must plan, decide, organize, revise, and adapt as they build or sort materials.
If the tower falls, how can I stabilize it?
If the bridge is too short, how can I extend it?
Loose parts push children to ask “how?” and “why?” the basis of scientific thinking.
A basket of stones is a hidden math lab.
Loose parts support:
Loose parts are open-ended. There is no “right way.” This boosts imagination and risk-taking.
Loose parts naturally encourage collaboration.
Children negotiate roles:
“Let’s build a road. You collect the stones, I’ll make the bridge.”
They share materials, take turns, and communicate ideas.
Loose parts play strengthens:
This is especially important in Canadian classrooms with diverse cultures and languages. Loose parts create a shared “play language” that includes everyone
Loose parts offer:
Natural materials especially have a calming effect.
Children are proud of their creations. Loose parts empower them to be capable, competent learners.
Children experiment, try new things, and problem solve with low pressure.
Children use:
Fine motor skills
picking up tiny objects, threading, stacking, sorting
Gross motor skills
lifting logs, building outdoor structures, carrying heavy materials
Hand-eye coordination
balancing stones, clipping clothespins, pouring water
Loose parts are not just “thinking materials”—they are movement and sensory materials too.
Loose parts spark enormous language growth.
Through storytelling, dramatic play, and descriptive vocabulary, children narrate their ideas:
Loose parts give multilingual learners (ELL/ESL children) a non-verbal entry point to join play and gradually build vocabulary naturally.
Loose parts allow children to integrate materials from home cultures:
This creates belonging and representation within the learning environment.
Loose parts celebrate diversity not through posters, but through materials children use daily.
Outdoor loose parts are especially transformative. Children build life-size creations, boosting strength, coordination, and confidence.
Loose parts are naturally inclusive because:
Educators can adapt materials to support sensory needs, motor abilities, and communication styles.
Buttons, shells, rings, blocks, fabric pieces.
Keep interest fresh.
Example:
After reading The Three Little Pigs, offer straw, sticks, stones.
Photos, quotes, learning stories, floor books.
Ask open-ended questions:
“What do you notice?”
“How could you change your design?”
Use:
A well-organized loose-parts area supports independence and respect for materials.
Loose parts play is safe when properly supervised.
Encourage families to bring:
Provide simple take-home guides or display children’s creations to inspire families.
Loose-parts play builds skills linked to school success:
It prepares children not just academically, but holistically.
Loose parts shift the educator’s role from “instructor” to co learner, “observer,” “curiosity guide,” and “environment designer.”
They represent:
Loose parts don’t just fill shelves, they fill children’s minds.
They are the heartbeat of high quality early years education.