Loose parts are natural or synthetic found, bought, or upcycled materials—acorns, hardware, stones, aluminum foil, fabric scraps, for example—that children can move, manipulate, control, and change within their play.

Loose parts capture children's curiosity, give free rein to their imagination, and encourage creativity.

In the newest installment of the wildly popular, award-winning Loose Parts series, Lisa Daly and Miriam Beloglovsky focus on including families and competency building. With inspiring full-color photographs Loose Parts 4 is organized around competencies and life skills children need for success in the future: knowingness, engagement, risk, connections, leadership, innovative thinking, and creativity.

Lisa and Miriam explain the value of loose parts, detail how to integrate loose parts into the environment and children’s play, and specifically focus on loose parts for children in family environments—helping educators engage families and extend learning beyond the classroom.