Stay-at-home orders are now in place for much of the U.S and the world. This may leave many parents feeling stressed about keeping children entertained and busy. One simple  way to keep your kids active while home is to introduce loose parts play.

Jill Wood, MLIS, explains what loose parts play is, how to implement it in your home, and the importance of play in a child’s day. She also provides ideas for everyday household items that can be used to start your loose parts play at home. This conversation will empower parents to embrace boredom and spark a bit of creativity in their child’s day.

About Jill Wood
Jill Wood is the Director of Adventure Play at The Parish School, as well as the school’s librarian. She holds a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Texas at Austin. Jill has been the Director of Adventure Play at The Parish School since 2008. Outside of The Parish School, Jill is the co-founder of Bayou City Play, an organization that sets up inclusive loose parts playgrounds at Shriner's Hospital for Children and pop-up playgrounds throughout the city of Houston. Jill believes that play is an integral part of a child’s educational and developmental experience, and, like exploring library shelves, it’s much better when there are a lot of choices and no one is telling you exactly what to choose!

Related Links:

• Parish School blog article: Loose Parts Take Part in Early Childhood Play
• Fairy Dust Teaching article: Loose Parts 
• Collection of play related articles relating to Corona virus: Play Whales Article Round-Up

Loose Parts Materials:

• Cardboard tubes and boxes
• Milk crates
• Egg cartons
• Plastic bottles and caps
• Fabric – small scraps large enough for capes or fort-building are both great
• Pieces of string or ribbon
• Clothespins
• Pool noodles
• Cardboard packing material of odd shapes
• Oatmeal containers/other empty and washed food containers, including soda bottles
• Wooden spoons
• Mixing bowl
• Saucepan, cooking pot, muffin tin, bowls
• Corks
• Wrapping paper
• Tennis balls

Activities to try with and without loose parts:

• Den building
• Pirate Adventure: See Jill's Video
• Playing "store" or "hospital"
• Marble maze
• Potion-making in the yard 
• Extended bath time with loose parts that float and hold water
• Wrestling
• Tree climbing
• Bike rides
• Long walks
• GoNoodle, dance parties, Cosmic Kids Yoga

 Podcasts for kids:

• https://www.storynory.com/
• https://www.npr.org/podcasts/532788972/circle-round
• https://www.storypirates.com/podcast

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