Loose Parts 2: Inspiring Play with Infants and Toddlers

by Lisa Daly, Miriam Beloglovsky, Jenna Daly (Illustrator)

Teachers' Choice Award for Preschool 2018 Winner!

Loose parts capture children's curiosity, give free reign to their imagination, and encourage creativity. This form of play allows infants to be in control and recognize the power of their bodies and actions. A variety of new and innovative loose parts ideas are paired with beautiful photography to inspire safe loose parts play in your infant and toddler environments. Captivating classroom stories and proven science provide the context for how this style of play supports children's development and learning. This book is perfect for Montessori and Reggio-inspired programs and educators.

Genres: Parenting, Education, Nonfiction, Professional Development, Family, Childrens

272 pages, Paperback

First published August 9, 2016

Reviews

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is all about using found things and plain pieces with young children instead of fancy toys with a single purpose. So, balls, blocks, scarves/fabric, buckets, and baskets are key. No fancy electronics. Lots of pieces for gross motor -- 1 foot lengths of chain, big tree slices, plastic culvert, etc.

Lots of photos that are very inspirational.

The beginning includes scientific justification for loose parts.

Love the short paragraphs showing how the pieces work with a particular student.

The focus in this book is on infants and toddlers children (up to 3 years old).

Could have used some practical helps
* How to store all these pieces when they're not available to the students (some of which are large)
* How to determine which pieces to put out and when to put them away. There were some good stories about provocation, but not much to help you decide when/how/with what to provoke the child.
* How long the arrangements children make are left as the children create them and when they're "cleaned up" or straightened up. Especially since a big emphasis is on children transporting things, it's hard to tell whether moving the parts back to their origin is good or bad.

[Bethany Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many pretty pictures and cute stories. Too little pratical advice such as "how to drill a hole in a disk of wood to make stacking discs" and "how to tie secure knots" and "what are these thingamajigs called and where can I buy them?". I did get a few vague good ideas but going to have to do most of the legwork myself in figuring out how to implement for work and home.

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic! Gives a clear overview of all the varied ways that older infants and toddlers make sense of their worlds through loose part play. The book provides details of how young children use these types of play and movement and how it benefits their development. I especially loved that each section includes real world descriptions of how different children approached each type and multiple pages of full color photographs of the loose parts in action. I cannot wait to look back on this for continual inspiration!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book to find activities to play with my granddaughter. This is a fast read because it contains a great deal of pictures. The book covers so many areas of interest to toddlers, and I took a lot of notes and my granddaughter and I thank the authors.

Very recommended for moms, dads and child caregivers.

[outdoortype · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Inspiring Play with Infants and Toddlers” but I read it as a Primary teacher. The theory is given and the photos give so many ideas to incorporate “Loose Parts” into a classroom, school and school yard.

[Ann Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very inspirational. Fun to read

[Kaxing Leung · Rating 4 out of 5]

A list of what kind of loose parts we can use for developments.

[Melanie Zwicker]

Great inspo when seeking a fresh outlook

[Laura Aziz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid book for inspiration but mostly pictures! Still enjoyed it!

[Lauren Wazontek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book. So helpful! Great ideas on everyday objects that babies will enjoy playing with that stimulate the imagination and inspire creativity.

[Andee Marley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ideas, I don't think I'll try to recreate precisely, but, I learned a lot about the amount to set out and what type of activities are inspiring.