Imaginative play
Loose Parts
Loose parts are items that can be transformed by the imagination into just about anything, cultivating a sense of creativity, spontaneity, imagination, and invention.
Rather than surrounding children with toys that have a single function, which children are expected to play with in only one way, children are instead given access to a variety of 'loose parts', and the freedom to imagine the possibilities.
Natural materials offer endless possibilities. A seed pod becomes a boat. A stick becomes a wand. Seashells become food for the baby.
The Joy of Imagination
Wooden blocks become roads, bridges, towers, houses, castles, robots, spaceships.
A blue cloth becomes a river, green becomes a pasture, and brown becomes the desert as a story is told.
A baby doll with a neutral facial expression can be happy, sad, angry, or content.