Playing with Loose Parts Counters - Messy Play without the Mess
When we talk about setting up play for children that involves pouring, we tend to immediately think of water and sand. While these are awesome to explore with, there are alternatives that change pouring experiences and that means different learning experiences for children.
We love using loose parts with pouring. Click on the images below to play the videos that we made with loose parts pouring.
The children in the second video worked carefully to pour and scoop the counters as they transferred them from one container to the next. Yes, there were the same skills being used as with water and sand play. This was different because the children were working with loose parts that were very different compared with water and sand. This meant that the children’s skills and knowledge of pouring and scooping had to be adjusted to successfully transfer the counters. Give it a go and you will get the feel of the different experience!
We added some tubes and an egg box to the set up for something different and of course the children used these as well for their pouring exploration. Filling the tubes and the egg box with counters was different learning about capacity. Lifting the tubes to release the counters was learning about cause and effect. Watch the finger movements when picking up stray counters. Great for pincer grip development. Listen to the sound when counters are poured. The feel and colourfulness of them is special too. Counters are so great to play with so they shouldn’t be restricted to board games and maths trolleys. A good collection of counters are a must for loose parts play and definitely for additional pouring and scooping opportunities for children.
The first video of pouring a range of loose parts will hopefully inspire you to think beyond water and sand. We know that water and sand play is essential in everyday play so we are not saying replace this. Loose parts are an alternative to stimulate pouring and scooping especially if water play can’t happen. This video can also be used to develop listening skills. We suggest that you watch it first and then listen to the sounds. Can you guess what is being poured? This could be a great game for you and your child to play.
Download our free counter sheets that can be printed and used for more counter play. Explore patterns and colours with these fun designs. If you don’t have counters, you could use buttons, pom poms or any round objects that can be placed on the circles.
