Five tips to enhance your child’s outdoor play with loose parts

Bits and bobs to encourage creativity

By Sarah Reader

In 2020, ParticipACTION published a report card for Canadian children on their daily behaviors such as active play, overall physical activity, sedentary behaviors, and sleep. The score for Overall Physical Activity was a D+ as only 39 percent of children aged 5 to 17 are getting the recommended daily amount of physical activity - this number is even lower in girls. The grade for Active Play (non-organized/unstructured leisure activities) was an F; this is a decline from a D assigned in 2018 (participaction.com).

Our children are more sedentary than ever, and their physical and mental health is declining because of it. Research shows us that we can increase these grades by offering more unstructured, outdoor play for our children. When kids are outside, they move more, sit less, and play longer.

A terrific way to enhance our children’s outdoor play is with loose parts. Loose parts are any materials that can be moved, carried, built and taken apart, lined up stacked together, and tinkered with. Loose parts aren’t prescriptive; there are no set directions, they offer limitless possibilities, and inspire creative play. Dynamic spaces where children can explore, create, imagine, and manipulate their environment through play helps to develop their imaginative learning, physical, social, and decision-making skills.

Here are five tips on how to incorporate loose parts into your child’s outdoor play: 1 . Variety is the spice of life . When curating loose parts for your child’s outdoor play, have a variety of pieces available including those that your child would normally never interact with such as pvc pipes, tires, or large spools. One of the best pieces I had at an adventure playground is an old fiberglass bathtub insert; it is light enough for the children to move and it became a pirate ship, a bed, a chariot, and more! You don’t have to head out and purchase anything new or fancy; the best loose parts pieces are those that you have in your house: buckets, cardboard, gardening tools, fabric, pots/pans, water, scrap wood, etc. Having a variety of natural pieces such as sticks, pinecones, or dirt is also a terrific way to introduce different sensory experiences. 2 . Use the environment . Do you have a hill near your house or woods? Are there large rocks to play on or trees to help create the backdrop for an imaginary world? When choosing parks to run an adventure playground, I looked for ones that had natural elements that I could incorporate into the children’s play like sand, rocks, trees, and hills. When your kids play out in nature, loose parts are already provided - the woods become their playground, the rocks and trees become their equipment, and they are exposed to endless hours of creation and imagination.

“Loose parts aren’t prescriptive; there are no set directions, they offer limitless possibilities, and inspire creative play.”

Enhance your child's outdoor play – Continued on page 13