One of the enemies of loose parts is perception... The trouble is that this perception is almost always an adult one. Loose parts may look messy, untidy, unruly, unsafe, unappealing, unintentional, and not fun said just about no child ever!
A key to appreciating loose parts is taking the time to consider them from a child's eye. If, as with most adults, this is overly challenging, take the time to observe children in real play.
Below are two pictures taken last week at Spring Mountain SS during the Festival of Learning. The first picture was before children arrived. The scene, left over from recess, was a typical kitchen environment. There was mud, it was "untidy", it was "unsightly". It was enough, in our experience, to make some adults knee jerk a negative response.
The second image shows 6 children from 4 schools 15 minutes after being introduced to the environment. These children for the most part had never played with each other before. They were of mixed ages and genders. Despite this the play came easily. The environment, due to having been left out gave all the cues and implied permissions required to understand what was allowed without an adult being involved. Despite from an adult lens things being a bit messy, the play was beautiful.
