Once children have stopped mouthing materials and have better muscle coordination, many different loose parts materials can be introduced.  Practically any safe material can be used as a loose part in a preschool classroom. The items provided to infants and toddlers can be enhanced with:

• Various lengths of string, yarn, and ribbon
• Sand paper scraps
• Wooden sticks, disks, and logs
• Polished and unpolished stones and rocks
• Prisms, sea glass, and glass pebbles
• Wire
• Items made from cork or sponge
• Dried and fresh flowers
• Various seeds and pine cones
• Clothes pins
• Straw bales
• Tires
• Milk crates
• PVC pipes and tubing
• Pool noodles cut to different lengths
• Buttons
• Clothing made from a variety of fabrics
• Dirt, mud, clay, etc.
• Magnets
• Dice and other random game pieces
• Popsicle sticks or tongue depressors

Check out tons of other ideas on our Pinterest page here!

For the main article Exploring Loose Parts, CLICK HERE

For the article Benefits of Loose Parts, CLICK HERE

For the article Loose Parts for Infants & Toddlers, CLICK HERE

For the article Director’s Corner – Helping Teachers Get Started with Loose Parts, CLICK HERE