Loose Parts Play with Items Found in Nature!
When we set up opportunities for children to play with interesting materials, they have the chance to explore, invent, and imagine in all kinds of new ways! Loose parts play is a great way to encourage fun and creative learning experiences for children with items found around the house.
*This activity involves small parts and is not recommended for children under the age of 3.
Materials:
- A flat, clean, dry workspace
- A mirror
- Found nature items. Our favorites include: leaves, twigs, grass, pebbles, tree bark, mulch, pine cones, acorns, and seashells
- Depending on the different nature items available to you, you may also want to supplement with loose parts from your home. Our favorites include: buttons, tooth picks, twine, dry beans, and popsicle sticks
Directions:
Take a walk outside and see what nature items you can find! It’s helpful to bring a small container, like a shoebox, along to help hold your collection as you walk. This is a great opportunity to talk with children about what is and isn’t respectful to take from nature or shared outdoor spaces.
Once you’ve collected all the materials you need, set up your workspace with your mirror and your nature items.
Take a look at your face in the mirror. What shapes do you see? Are some of your features bigger than others? Is your hair long or short, straight or curly?
Take a look at the items you collected. What could make good eyes? Did you collect anything that reminds you of the shape of your nose or the texture of your hair?
Use what you collected to put together the best portrait of yourself that you can! Don’t like something? Don’t worry! The best part about playing with loose parts is that you can create and re-create again and again! Try making portraits of yourself making different faces. What’s different about how you make a happy face compared to how you make a sad face?
Don’t forget to take a picture before you put your loose parts away! Share your photos with us by using #OSCatHome on social media or submitting them to our Science Showcase!
Extend the fun!
One of our favorite things about loose parts play is that you can use almost anything! Don’t have easy access to nature items?
Try using some of our other favorite loose parts items which include but are not limited to:
- Bottle caps
- LEGO blocks
- Uncooked pasta in different shapes
- Yarn or ribbon
- Beads
- Pom poms
- Straws
- Fabric scraps
- Cardboard tubes
- Rubber bands
- Paper clips
- Q-tips or cotton swabs
- Tin foil
Just like your materials, your loose parts play prompt can be pretty much anything. Challenge children to make an invention, map out a garden, explore pattern making, design a robot, imagine their own planet, or create scenes based on different seasons!
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