Dear Readers,
I am writing this article to make you aware of a marvellous discovery that I am experiencing.
If the Little Prince said that “All grown-ups were once children” it is also true that it is possible
for a grown-up become a child again (in a Benjamin Button kind of way) and see the world
through the lenses of imagination and creativity. Nowadays there are lots and lots of studies
and theories to get to know children and the proper way to approach and relate to them
(Montessori, Malaguzzi, empiricist view, nativist view, interactionist view, Froebel, Steiner,
Bruner and so and so forth); and they are the tangible result of years of observations and
researches. However in my opinion, after some years of working and dealing with the realm
of the so called ‘EY’ (Early Years), nothing is more important than get down on our knees
and look at things at the same distance and height as children: through the eyes of
“curiosity.” We need to forget all those notions learnt through experience because it is
important to explore the world and analyse it as if it was new; like the man of Plato coming
out from the black and dark cave into the world which is now full of light. This is the reason
why, this year, in my class (Nursery) I decided to adopt some theories that will create a
beautiful interaction between teachers and toddlers. One of these studies is called ‘Loose-
Parts,’ it was coined by the architect Simon Nicholson. ‘Loose-Parts’ are all those objects or
materials that can be found in nature or a specific environment that can be “transformed”
through the power of imagination and used in an ‘unconventional’ or original way. They have
an ‘open-ended’ exertion, in other words there is not only one way to look at things. For
example some small branches can frame a flower, thus becoming a natural picture or
painting, or old cinnamon sticks can be the stem of a flower, an old paper tube a tunnel for
cars and trucks, a cork can be used to paint or a PVC pipe/corrugated pipe an interesting
pattern to explore the way liquids and objects go down due to gravity, or some mosaics can
be used as the perfect game to find the color correspondence and so and so forth. The
reason why I am stating that ‘Loose-Parts’ theory can help the interaction between teachers
and toddlers is because it is the adult who selects the objects or materials that will be
provided to the child, and this is the moment when the grown-up has to get back on his
knees and look at things through the eyes of the child he used to be: with an ‘open(ended)-
minded’ attitude. However once the objects are ready and set for the child he must take a
step back because now it is the child’s turn and be like the Cheshire cat in “Alice in
Wonderland” which is always there without imposing its presence on Alice’s decisions but he
pops out once in a while when the toddler turns around to check if he is still there.
Resources:
-) “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewiss Carroll
(https://www.gutenberg.org/files/11/11-h/11- h.htm)
-) “The Allegory of the Cave” by Plato
(https://archive.org/details/PlatoTheRepublic_201611)
-) “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
(http://yoanaj.co.il/uploadimages/The_Little_Prince.pdf)
-) “Loose-Parts”
(https://louisapenfold.com/2016/05/23/simon-nicholson- on-the- theory-of- loose-parts/)