Best 15 Free Loose Parts for Remote or In-Person Learning

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Loose parts are my FAVORITE material to have in my classroom AND at home. Loose parts by nature provoke imagination and creativity and can integrate so many more academic skills. When using loose parts children are often sorting (color, size, shape, texture), counting, categorizing, constructing, role playing, pretending, using their 5 senses, and so much more. The best is that these 15 loose parts are more than likely already in your home and they can be used for remote learning.

What are loose parts? 

The book Loose Parts by Lisa Daly and Miriam Beloglovsky, defines these materials as, “loose parts mean alluring, beautiful fun objects and materials that children can move, manipulate, control, and change while they play” (pg 3). They are VERY open-ended. There is much debate that almost anything can be a loose part, but a clear differentiation is the direction of the object. For example if a child is given wheels, sticks, and boxes what can a child make? Anything!! Can it also be a car? Absolutely. Now compare that to an actual toy car. When a child is given this toy, they automatically start diving it around on the ground and making “Vvvvrroooom” noises. So, is one better than the other? Not necessarily, they both provoke imaginary play and they are both fun. But which one is open-ended and which one is close-ended? Open and close-ended materials is something we can talk about for ages, that is for another time. This is just for the sake of the point. Obviously the loose parts are open-ended and leave room for so much more exploration and deeper learning. 

As stated above, loose parts are typically found or recycled and upcycled materials, but clearly you can buy them as well, like I have, because well, I don’t have pine trees near me living in a big city. While you probably have most of these objects readily available, I am also going to place links for items that can be bought to save you some trouble. Disclaimer – this list is for Pre-K children aged almost 4 and up. Some of these items are not appropriate for infants, toddlers, and 3’s, but upon size adjustment can also be used. 

Best 15 Free Loose Parts  

1. Bottle Caps and Can Lids

Drink beer? Twist off wine? Cap come off pouches, soda bottles, detergent caps, cans with plastic lids, mason jars, old candles, and SO MANY MORE. All of these items can provide a cap and most a bottle for using too (see #2). Note: just because it is glass does not mean it is unsafe for children. It can be used in a safe way so it won’t break (on a carpet) it can be used for storage. I LOVE to sort, count, and do size comparison with caps. My second main use is in a play kitchen. They can substitute food and kids love mixing them around in a metal bowl and listening to the noise it makes. Caps can go in the water (bath, sensory table) and can be used to add on to block structure. 

2. Bottles

When you are taking the caps off these items, keep them! As noted above keep the items you deem to be child appropriate for use. Bottles are perfect for stuffing things into and trying to get them out. The obvious pouring and filling in water, sand, rice, dirt and so on. Bottles are also fun for stacking, looking into, and being sound makers, to name just a few. 

 3. String, Ribbon, Twine, Rope

Long and short pieces of string, ribbon, twine, rope and the like give children opportunities to learn to tie and hold things together. They can dress up or pretend to make bracelets and necklaces. Inevitably in my classroom the children always end up playing dog walk with the ribbon. They can be used for movement and interpreting music and added to so many other materials for aesthetic and discovery purposes. 

4. Paper Towel and Toilet Paper Tubes

These are among my favorite and easiest items to get a hold of. Most people have these in their home and all you have to do is keep them. Then they can be used for SO MANY ideas. Telescopes and swords are obvious go tos, but paired with caps they can be tubes for putting things inside, they can be stacked and make great additions to already large block towers. They can enhance sound and can be created into various different projects – rain tubes, ornaments, bird(squirrel) feeders. Note: If using toilet paper tubes skeeves you out – give them a spray with your favorite sanitizer and let them sit for a few days.

5. Nuts and Bolts and Flat End Screws

Most people have a small collection of these items left over from some build your own furniture build where they should have been used but mysteriously don’t seem to be necessary. They just hang out never being used, so why not give them to children. Children love to use these items to pour into bottles or tubes or bowls. They like to sound and line them up and will use them to decorate larger items like tree cookies (more on those later) or trivets. Just make sure you use flat end screws please!

6. Rocks

Rocks, I feel, are a given. Who doesn’t have a memory of playing with rocks in some way shape or form. I love placing them in the sensory table or painting them with water and actual paint. Children love to color them for some reason, which to me is totally cool. They stack build design and so on. I have a rock permanently stuck in a bottle because the kids love the challenge of getting them in and out and this one won’t budge. So now it becomes a yearly challenge – someone always has to try to get it out. 

7. Sticks

I feel like sticks are just as self explanatory as rocks. Sticks are synonymous with children playing, so why wouldn’t you have any in your classroom or home for your kids? Tie the ribbons to them, make bridges across towers, swords, writing utensils in sand. So. Many. Uses.

8. Torn Paper

Torn and shredded paper is usually thought of more of an art material, but I love to have the kids early in the year tear paper. 1. It builds fine motor strength. 2. It’s fun. 3. It’s actually really tough for little hands so they have to figure out the best tears. The kids are put to work tearing paper for collaging and I always remind the kids they can use them for loose parts exploration. They love using them to decorate things and make designs. The tough part here is telling them they can’t always glue them to something. If they want to, I direct them to the art cart where they can collage. I generally don’t want paper glued to reusable loose parts – but if a child has an awesome plan and idea, I’m not going to get in the way of her process. 

9. Bowls, Cups, Plates

Bowls, cups, plates and the such are great vessels for loose parts and can provoke and spark all types of imaginary play. I’ve seen kids use them to build and use them as their intent serving people food or mixing up concoctions. These are loose parts essential complementary items while being loose parts themselves. 

10. Coasters and Trivets

Coasters and trivets are like bowls and plates – they tend to be inviting complementary items, but can be usable items themselves. They can stack, pretend, sort and be perfectly integrated in with other items listed above. You get it, at this point, it’s repetitive. 

11. Fabric

Now I know most people when thinking fabric are like, “I don’t have fabric in my house, I don’t sew!” But alas you do, old t-shirt? Wash clothes? Kitchen towels? Socks? All of these (clean) items can be cut up into small pieces of fabric or used as they are. Fabric is essential to have in loose parts play as it is great for wrapping things, becoming tops to structures, and hiding/revealing things. My kids LOVED giving me surprise presents where I had to guess what was inside. 

12. Leaves

Leaves, especially in the fall, are great for color work and are just a beautiful aesthetic. They are fragile as they dry out, but there are multiple uses for them while they are still good. Then even when they are dry and crumbly, crumbling them is SO FUN! I’ve also been known to buy fake leaves to have that will last, especially since little kids are so rough on things. But I always use them in combination as my city kids don’t always get a lot of nature. P.S. We love to go on walks and collect leaves, but if picking them up off NYC city streets skeeves you out (it does me!) I give them a good spray with sanitizing spray and let them sit for a day or so before putting them to use. 

13. Acorns, Pine Cones, and Other Seeds

Just like leaves, acorns and seeds and pods that fall off trees make great discovery items. The children can use magnifying glasses to explore them, feel them, and then add them to their creative play and design. My favorites are the spiky, I think Sweet Gum tree seeds ( I’m no arborist here – I googled). Pine cones are great too. The only reason they didn’t make the list is not everyone can just go out and get them depending on your area. I do buy mine and have found some that are NOT scented. Most made for decor are scented with that warm cinnamony “holiday” scent.  Note: acorns are tree nuts – so someone with a severe tree nut allergy could be allergic! so I linked above to fake ones.

14. Glass Vase Beads

Glass vase beads are always a popular item to choose when my kids are incorporating loose parts in their play. They are often used as food, jewels in treasure, and decoration. They are great for counting, filling, and adding to sensory. Also if small enough they are wonderful for adding to play-dough for building fine motor strength. They are a beautiful aesthetic to add to the classroom and the children usually think so too. Watch out they will try to pocket them and bring them home!

15. Corks

Wine drinkers delight! You don’t have to figure out what to do with corks because you can donate them to a teacher or your child’s play area. I am not a huge drinker of wine – but when we do we always donate the cork to my classroom or my son’s kitchen area. Same with the little can tabs used to open a drink can. Corks are so fun in the water and sand. Tabs are great fillers and small items for pretending to be food or bottle noise makers. I’ve seen kids string them and make necklaces for friends from the provided ribbon. Corks can also stack and count and make great little pillars for building. 

So there we have it – a great starter list for loose parts in your home or classroom that are totally FREE! Ask families to collect and bring them in as well as keep your own collection. 

Using for Remote Learning

Loose parts are great materials to have for children to learn all the skills they will be learning at school without having to spend a ton of money on structure laterals like Magna-Tiles, snap cubes, and blocks. While I know many homes have these types of manipulatives so many families cannot afford these. This is where loose parts come in. Even if you have a family that doesn’t have all 15 on the list – they can certainly collect a few and few is better than none. 

My recommendation would be for individual homes to make sure you have at least 10-20 of the smaller items that can be used for math concepts. The larger items you only need 2-5 like bottles, fabric pieces, ribbon. In terms of the natural items the same number 10-20. This amount would support any appropriate learning remotely for this age of children. Obviously more just means more different ways of discovering, but there is no need for endless amounts. It will get too crazy for parents to keep sorted and neat. 

These are also great for older kids too – loose parts are not exclusive to younger children.

How to Organize Loose Parts

All of the bottles not being used to play with make great containers. I have been hoarding my baby formula cans. Simple plastic ziplock bags are great, but not always child friendly to open – but if you are at home with these maybe you like that. I personally would put them in small bowls or baskets and put them where they are readily available. I love and use these trays and baskets in my classroom.

While the list of what can be constituted as loose parts is long, this post touches on the easy to gather, but amazing for learning items pretty much ANYONE can collect. Deeper looks on more loose parts click here.

Comment below and tell me what are your favorite loose parts? How do you use them in your classroom or home?