Thread by @toddle_edu

We're getting ready to head into our session on literacy and loose parts with Dr Carla Gull. Moderated by @twisha27 and supported by @shamal_merchant and @KKatPlay. Grab a quick snack and drink and come back to continue our #EYPlayParty🎈

What exactly do we mean by literacy? Although reading & writing immediately come to mind, according to @AlbertaEd, in EY it is the ability, confidence, & willingness to engage with language to acquire, construct, & communicate meaning in all aspects of daily living. #ToddlePlay

And what about loose parts? Simply put, it refers to objects that can be put together in many different without specific direction. #EYLooseParty #LoosePartsPlay

To develop a loose parts mindset: Involve children in planning & building the learning space, allow experimentation & a "yes" mentality in play, blur lines between inside and outside, solve real-life environmental problems, & use what we have naturally. #EYLooseParts #AddWater

There's no fixed template for what a loose part should look like. It doesn't have to be natural and unpainted, says Carla.

As educators, we tend to setup classrooms the way we think it should be, but what if we let children arrange it the way they want? So much potential!

Loose parts have featured in play for centuries - through #montessori #ReggioEmilia. Asked how our attendees incorporate loose parts for literacy today, they mention storytelling, picture frames, story walks, collages, mark making, sequencing, 3D sculpting, messy play, & sorting

Little hands need a lot of different textures and material to develop hand strength and fine-motor skills. 👐🫶 Some of these materials can be used to stimulate literacy skills beyond reading and writing #EYLiteracy #EYLooseParts #EYPlayParty

Digging, scooping, using natural material, creating faces using materials from nature, painting on leaves, drawing with twigs...all of these contribute towards pre-literacy skills. The more varied the material, the more valuable the opportunities that children get #EYOutdoors

Absolutely! We need a strong foundation that we can build onto - what better time than the Early Years?

Loose parts can be used for pre-literacy and pre-writing development, to tell stories, to write in unconventional media such as sand or mud, in dramatic play, to make music, for class-made books, as provocations. There are also some fantastic books incorporating loose parts.

Children with a "loose-parts" mindset can transform objects as needed - something that is a fan during one playtime, might become butterfly wings the next. The flexibility & open-ended nature of this type of activity is immensely valuable to children's development #EYLooseParts

Keeping in mind the conceptualisation of literacy as a means of expression & communication, here are some ways that loose parts can support literacy. The stimulus for creativity, problem solving, storytelling, & exploration that loose parts provide is very valuable. #ToddlePlay

Coming to a close, Carla asks what attendees' main takeaway has been: idea jar, mud kitchen, special days to celebrate loose parts, loose parts are treasure not junk, allowing a mess - all so valuable. Finally, here are bottomline essentials for loose parts. #EYLooseParts