Loose parts magic

I've been looking for ways to enhance my students creativity and problem-solving skills in my outdoor-based preschool and kindergarden.  In my research amongst other blogs and educators, the hot way to do just that is through loose parts play.  Having collections of random objects, such as buckets, sticks, kitchen utensils, bowls, balls of different sizes, and planks and rounds of wood can be engineered and imagined into so many different things! 

I have to admit, I've used loose parts in the past.  I would meticulousely arrange them into little stations before the children arrived with my pre-determined ways that the children would use the objects.  There might be a music station, with an arrangement of buckets, bowls and utensils for banging, a building station with sticks, and a rolling station with balls of various sizes and halved PVC pipes.  But the children had little attention to give the parts and would wander between stations, and often resort to playing tag games. 

So I decided to change my tune.  I put out only one or two collections of loose parts materials, along with an art or craft project, to welcome the children as they arrived.  I also made clear that any of the materials at the side of the barn were available.  To my surprise, the ways that the children used the materials skyrocketed!  Here, two children making a delicious concoction in the "kitchen." 

 

Meanwhile, another two arrange wooden rounds and planks into their own obstacle course.   

 Just a few moments later, they shift their attention to building a tower. 

 They keep adding to it, and it's almost double the height of this child!

The preschoolers decided to use some planks and the picnic table as a makeshift slide. 

 With a little redirection, the used the plank of wood as a ramp for other objects, like this wooden round:

 a ping-pong ball,

 wooden block shapes

and round silver balls.  So much ingenuity!  And focus, too - look at the girl in the racoon mask, raptly watching the whole time.

Building our play-spaces

 The Forest Preschoolers are active, imaginative, and LOVE to build.  They love to create their worlds, and will craft pretty much anything they can get their hands on into elaborate scenes.  Much of our mornings focus around building in some form, and pretty much everyone participates. 

Laying out our obstacle course.

Yay for teamwork! Moving a board for a fort's floor.

A salvaged slide makes for the beginnings of a forest playground.

Working on a home-made swing.

Making dock-masks.

Giving the swing a test-run!

Flags for our tipi

Righting our own little tipi.

Building models with kitchen-fresh play-do.

What fun these little ones have while making their world the way they want to see it!

First week of Forest Preschool!

I noticed two major signs of fall this week:  the temps were crisp and cool in the morning, and eager 3, 4, and 5 year olds started their first week of Forest Preschool!  Being outside the whole time, the children used their imaginations and took advantage of the forest to have a grand old time.

Our days always start with "Loose Parts Play."  As Forest Preschool teachers, we embrace the adage, "One man's trash is another man's treasure," and gather old kitchen utensils, sticks, rocks, old pallets, pretty much anything to see how the children will engineer them into new, creative uses and forms. 

Our sound wall.

Sorting, building and categorizing

Once we're out at Deer Camp, we eat snack and listen to a story.  On Thursday, we heard about the Green Man, who liked to leave mysterious pictures in the forest.  Often, these stories will influence our activity for the day. 

Snack and story

Collecting and counting apples for Green Man

Making our own Green Man

Taking a break and playing in the mud

We also looked for deer beds and, of course, had to make our own and sample them:

In the fields behind Deer Camp

Pine needle deer bed

Look!  I found a baby deer!

 A lot of fun can happen in the scope of the three hour morning.  We look forward to many more weeks of adventuring with these energetic explorers!