In Praise of Loose Parts

In Jim Greenman’s beloved book, Caring Spaces, Learning Places (recently revised by Mike Lindstrom), there is a description of the value of loose parts (both the literal loose parts children manipulate in the learning environment, as well as the figurative loose parts teachers employ as creative educators):

“Simon Nicholson’s theory of loose parts is powerful in its simplicity: ‘In any environment, both the degree of inventiveness and creativity, and the possibility of discovery, are directly proportional to the number and kinds of variables in it.’ Teachers also need loose parts and autonomy to turn their creativity loose and create wonderful learning experiences. Teacher-proofing with prescribed curricula and materials leaves their jobs mindless and them as poor role models.”

In Lisa Daly and Miriam Beloglovsky’s popular book, Loose Parts: Inspiring Play in Young Children, the authors write more about Simon Nicholson’s loose parts theory:

“British architect Simon Nicholson…saw people of every age as potentially creative. Environments, he believed, offer many ways for children to interact with variables such as gravity, sounds, chemical reactions, concepts, words, and people. For Nicholson, the richness of an environment depended on the opportunities it provided for making connections.”

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