Benefits of Using Loose Parts Play at Nursery

The benefits of loose parts play can be seen across many areas of children’s early learning. By arranging, combining, moving and transforming open-ended materials, children can develop creativity, communication, physical skills and problem-solving through play.

Unlike a toy with one obvious purpose, a loose part can be used in many different ways. A wooden block might become a building, a telephone, a vehicle or part of an imaginary meal. The child decides what the object represents and how it fits into their play.

In this article, we explore what loose parts play means, why it is valuable in the early years and how adults can provide it safely at nursery and at home.

What Is Loose Parts Play?

Loose parts are open-ended objects and materials that children can move, combine, arrange, redesign and use in different ways.

They do not have to be used according to a fixed set of instructions. Children can make their own decisions, change direction and create something different each time they play.

Depending on the child’s age and the level of supervision, loose parts might include:

• Wooden blocks and discs.
• Cardboard boxes, tubes and packaging.
• Fabric, scarves and ribbons without long cords.
• Large containers, baskets and crates.
• Large shells, stones, pine cones and pieces of wood.
• Leaves, sticks and other suitable natural materials.
• Pots, pans, spoons and other safe household objects.
• Large construction pieces, tyres, planks and crates outdoors.

The materials offered should always be selected for the children using them. An object suitable for an older preschool child may present a choking or injury risk to a baby or toddler.

How Loose Parts Play Supports Early Learning

The Early Years Foundation Stage sets standards for children’s learning, development and care from birth to five. It recognises that young children learn through games and play across areas including communication, physical development, mathematics, understanding the world and expressive arts and design.

Parents can read more about these areas on the GOV.UK Early Years Foundation Stage page.

Well-planned loose parts can support the three characteristics of effective teaching and learning:

• Playing and exploring: children investigate materials, try different ideas and have a go.
• Active learning: children remain involved, keep trying when something is difficult and enjoy what they achieve.
• Creating and thinking critically: children develop ideas, make connections and find their own ways to complete a task.

Loose parts are not intended to replace every other type of resource. Books, puzzles, role-play equipment and carefully planned adult-led experiences all have value. Loose parts add another form of play in which the outcome is guided more directly by the child.

What Are the Benefits of Loose Parts Play?

The benefits of loose parts play extend beyond simply keeping children occupied. The same collection of objects can support several areas of development, depending on how children choose to use it.

Encourages Creativity and Imagination

Loose parts do not tell children what they must create. A cardboard tube could become a telescope, a tunnel, part of a building or a piece of musical equipment.

This freedom encourages children to develop their own ideas. They can change the purpose of an object as their game develops rather than being restricted to one predetermined result.

Two children may use the same materials in completely different ways. Both outcomes are valuable because the children have made their own choices and used their imaginations.

Develops Problem-Solving Skills

Loose parts regularly present children with manageable problems. A tower may fall, a bridge may be too short or a container may not hold everything they want to place inside it.

Children can experiment with different solutions instead of being given the answer immediately. They may change the base of a structure, choose a different material or ask another child to help.

This process encourages persistence and flexible thinking. Children learn that an unsuccessful attempt does not have to end the activity; it can provide useful information for their next idea.

Supports Fine and Gross Motor Development

Picking up, positioning, stacking and joining suitable objects can develop control in children’s hands and fingers. These movements support everyday skills such as drawing, dressing and using cutlery.

Larger loose parts can encourage whole-body movement. Children may carry an appropriately sized crate, roll a tyre, position a plank or work with others to move a large cardboard box.

Resources should be light enough for children to handle safely. Adults need to consider the weight, shape and condition of every object before adding it to the play environment.

Introduces Early Mathematical Ideas

Loose parts provide practical ways to explore mathematical language and ideas. Children may sort materials by size, shape, colour or texture before creating patterns and arrangements.

They can compare quantities, count objects, investigate capacity and consider which materials are longer, shorter, heavier or lighter.

When children build a structure, they may also explore balance, position, height and symmetry without needing these concepts to be presented as a formal lesson.

Builds Communication and Social Skills

Children often talk about what they are creating and explain what an object represents. Adults can support this by introducing useful language without taking control of the activity.

Shared loose parts play also creates opportunities to cooperate, exchange resources and negotiate different ideas. One child may want a box to become a bus while another imagines it as a shop. They then need to decide whether to combine their ideas, take turns or create separate areas.

These conversations can support listening, confidence and an understanding that other people may have different ideas.

Promotes Independence and Decision-Making

With suitable resources and supervision, children can choose what to use, where to position it and when their creation is complete.

Having genuine choices can help children become more confident in their ideas. It also allows practitioners to observe children’s interests and how they approach challenges.

Independence does not mean that adults withdraw completely. Practitioners remain responsible for safety and provide support when it will help children extend their thinking.

Connects Indoor and Outdoor Learning

Loose parts can be used indoors and outdoors. Natural materials such as large stones, leaves, pine cones and pieces of wood can help children notice differences in shape, weight, texture and appearance.

Outdoors, larger materials can support more physical and collaborative play. Children might arrange logs, create a route using tyres or use crates and planks to construct an imaginary vehicle or building.

You can explore Hunny Pot Nursery’s indoor and outdoor spaces on our Explore Nursery page.

Keeping Loose Parts Play Safe

Loose parts play must be planned around the age, development and individual needs of the children taking part.

Babies and young children frequently explore objects with their mouths. Small materials such as beads, buttons, coins, marbles and small toy parts can cause choking and should be kept out of their reach.

Before offering loose parts, adults should:

• Check that every item is large enough for the children using it.
• Remove sharp, broken, splintered or damaged objects.
• Avoid button batteries, magnets and items containing unknown substances.
• Check natural materials for thorns, fungi, animal waste or anything toxic.
• Consider allergies, hygiene requirements and additional needs.
• Ensure larger objects are not too heavy or unstable for children to move.
• Provide supervision appropriate to the activity and the children involved.
• Inspect and clean reusable materials regularly.

Children should still have opportunities to explore manageable challenge and risk, but adults must remove hazards that children cannot recognise or manage for themselves.

The Adult’s Role in Loose Parts Play

Adults help create an inviting environment by choosing safe materials, organising them so children can reach them and allowing enough time for ideas to develop.

They can observe what children are trying to achieve and decide whether support is needed. Sometimes the most helpful response is to wait and allow a child to test an idea independently.

At other times, an open question may extend the play:

• “What could you try next?”
• “How could you make it more stable?”
• “Which container do you think will hold the most?”
• “Can you tell me about what you have made?”

The purpose of these questions is to encourage the child’s thinking, not to steer everyone towards the same finished result.

Trying Loose Parts Play at Home

Loose parts play does not require expensive specialist equipment. Many useful resources can be found at home, provided they are clean, safe and appropriate for the child.

You might begin with a small collection of large cardboard tubes, boxes, fabric pieces, wooden spoons and containers. Allow your child to investigate before suggesting what the objects could become.

Rotate materials gradually rather than presenting too many objects at once. Keeping some familiar resources while introducing one or two additions allows children to revisit earlier ideas and develop them further.

Activities should remain supervised, especially when children are using household or natural materials that were not originally manufactured as toys.

The Benefits of Loose Parts Play at Nursery

The benefits of loose parts play include greater freedom to imagine, experiment, communicate and solve problems. Open-ended materials can support several areas of learning while allowing children to pursue their own interests and ideas.

At Hunny Pot Nursery, children have access to varied indoor and outdoor experiences designed around their age, development and interests. Appropriate adult support helps children explore safely while developing confidence and independence.

You can also read about the importance of play for children and discover more ideas in our guide to nursery activities children will love.

To see our play and learning environments for yourself, book a nursery tour.