Loose Parts 3 Inspiring Culturally Sustainable Environments

P/B • 280 Pages
ISBN 9781605544663

Loose parts are natural or synthetic found, bought, or upcycled materials—acorns, hardware, stones, aluminum foil, fabric scraps—that children can move, manipulate, control, and change within their play. Loose parts are alluring and beautiful. They capture children’s curiosity, give free reign to their imagination, and encourage creativity.

The next installment for the award-winning Loose Parts series offers inspiration and guidance on creating culturally sensitive and culturally sustainable early childhood environments. With the help of over 400 full-color photos this book guides readers to use their environment to promote a sense of wonder, curiosity, and joy, and allow children to explore their identity.

Loose Parts 3 analyzes environment design through six key terms:
Aesthetic—the nature of art and beauty.
Authenticity—helps us avoid stereotypical and biased assumptions.
Equity—is about achieving equal outcomes by the individualizing support for each child.
Dynamic—always changing and supporting children’s critical thinking.
Praxis—actioned informed by theory.
Critical reflection—the on-going process of consideration, analysis and informed decision-making applied to daily work.

Peer-reviewed by a team from diverse backgrounds—Loose Parts 3 includes a note on the peer review process, and the authors’ own journey looking at their classrooms.