Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/celebrating-special-days--with-a-loose-parts-mindset/5027024/
*Photos and figures can be found in the pdf version of this article.
Celebrating and observing special days and seasons is an age-old way to connect with each other, the land, our families, and our communities. Gull et al. (2021) state “Adding loose parts celebrations in our classrooms can create and promote diversity, culture, and appreciation of nature, current events, and history.” In addition, when loose parts are added to the celebration mix, creativity, problem solving skills, and collaboration are enhanced. Building on home-school connections for our celebrations allows parents to see firsthand how loose parts can be a powerful part of our students’ educational and play experiences. With a little imagination and creativity, you can plan celebratory events that strengthen your students, their families, and community (Gull et al., 2021).
Special Days to Celebrate
Explore loose parts-connected days to celebrate, host families at the school as part of celebrations, and implement principles to help any loose parts celebration be a success in your setting. Celebratory days can spark special moments in the classroom and be shared with families. Examples include:
- International Artists Day (10/5
- Outdoor Classroom Day (11/3)
- National Button Day (11/16)
- National Inventors Day (2/11)
- National Old Stuff Day (3/2)
- National Creativity Day (5/30)
Additional celebration ...