{"id":24579,"date":"2025-02-12T11:39:16","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T11:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/digilearn\/?p=24579"},"modified":"2025-06-18T11:30:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T10:30:22","slug":"light-as-a-loose-part","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/digilearn\/2025\/02\/12\/light-as-a-loose-part\/","title":{"rendered":"Light as a Loose Part."},"content":{"rendered":"<section id=\"builder-section-text_12\" class=\"builder-section-first builder-section builder-section-text builder-section-last builder-text-columns-1 layout-4-8\" style=\"background-size: cover;background-repeat: no-repeat;background-position: center center\">\n<div class=\"builder-section-content\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-row\">\n<div id=\"builder-section-text_12-column-1\" class=\"builder-text-column builder-text-column-1\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-content\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">When you think of loose parts, do you ever consider light up resources?<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Small, inexpensive, battery operated torches, touch lights, string lights?<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div data-carousel-extra='{\"blog_id\":6913,\"permalink\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\\\/glowblogs\\\/digilearn\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/12\\\/light-as-a-loose-part\\\/\"}' id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-24579 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/digilearn\/2025\/02\/12\/light-as-a-loose-part\/2-8\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"140\" height=\"75\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/public\/digilearn\/uploads\/sites\/6913\/2025\/02\/12112447\/2-280x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"24582\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/digilearn\/2025\/02\/12\/light-as-a-loose-part\/2-8\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/public\/digilearn\/uploads\/sites\/6913\/2025\/02\/12112447\/2.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"640,480\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"2\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/public\/digilearn\/uploads\/sites\/6913\/2025\/02\/12112447\/2-300x225.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/public\/digilearn\/uploads\/sites\/6913\/2025\/02\/12112447\/2.jpg\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/digilearn\/2025\/02\/12\/light-as-a-loose-part\/img_0491\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"140\" height=\"75\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/public\/digilearn\/uploads\/sites\/6913\/2025\/02\/12112452\/IMG_0491-280x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"24583\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/digilearn\/2025\/02\/12\/light-as-a-loose-part\/img_0491\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/public\/digilearn\/uploads\/sites\/6913\/2025\/02\/12112452\/IMG_0491-rotated.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"945,1260\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 13 mini&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1698255096&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;5.1&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;800&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.03448275862069&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_0491\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/public\/digilearn\/uploads\/sites\/6913\/2025\/02\/12112452\/IMG_0491-225x300.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/public\/digilearn\/uploads\/sites\/6913\/2025\/02\/12112452\/IMG_0491-768x1024.jpg\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thriveoutdoors.org.uk\/\">Thrive Outdoors<\/a> Loose Parts Play Toolkit<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> explains the origin and theory of loose parts, making reference to Simon Nicholson\u2019s research from 1971; <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Theory of Loose Parts: How NOT to Cheat Children.<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Nicholson believed <span data-contrast=\"none\">moveable materials that can be constructed and taken apart, create limitless possibilities for creativity, central to loose parts explorations.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">He described loose parts as <\/span><b><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u2018variables\u2019 <\/span><\/i><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">and provided examples such as <\/span><b><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">materials and shapes; smells and other physical phenomena, such as electricity, magnetism and gravity; media such as gases and fluids; sounds, music, motion; chemical interactions, cooking and fire; and other humans, and animals, plants, words, concepts and ideas. With all these things all children love to play, experiment, discover and invent and have fun.<\/span><\/i><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The ideas of variables become tangible outdoors and indoors, in both natural and artificial light. Nicholson shares the dynamic interaction between children and the loose parts, the landscape, elements, and seasons, fosters a constantly evolving and growing play environment. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In his theory, Nicholson illustrated also variables as <\/span><b><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">naturally occurring and disappearing phenomena like water, ice, snow, shadows, cobwebs, dappled light and rainbows. <\/span><\/i><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"ttfmake-1739359273\" class=\"ttfmake-button\" style=\"background-color: #171717;color: #ffffff;font-size: 16px;font-weight: bold;padding: 4px 10px;border-radius: 100px\" href=\"https:\/\/inspiringscotland.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Loose-Parts-Play-Toolkit-2019-web.pdf\" data-hover-background-color=\"#171717\" data-hover-color=\"#ffffff\">Loose Parts Play Toolkit<\/a><\/p>\n<h1><\/h1>\n<h1><strong>Related reading:<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Blog post by TTS &#8211; Importance of Light and Shadow Play in the early years.<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In this TTS article, you can read about the benefits of light and shadow play. Through this <\/span>intrinsically<span data-contrast=\"auto\"> motivating force, children develop spatial awareness and actively learn about shapes, sizes, and dimensions, cause and effect and the wonder of experimenting with moving objects in front of a light source to change the shadow it creates.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"ttfmake-button\"><b style=\"font-size: 1.8rem\">Importance of Light and Shadow Play in the early years<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Blog post by TTS &#8211; Bringing joy through light By Ben Kingston-Hughes.<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In this second TTS article, the author Ben Kingston-Hughes describes how light can\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">bring unique moments of joy and explains how we respond and pay more attention to things that fascinate us.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Kingston-Hughes<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> illustrates that t<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">hrough shadow explorations, children being to recognise that shadows are bigger the nearer to the light source, and how innately mathematical and simple shadow play with children can help embed complex scientific concepts, whilst providing them with joyful explorations. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The value of sensory play to developing brains cannot be overestimated and our early explorations with light and shadow are a wonderful way to embed sensory play into our settings.<\/span><\/i><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><a id=\"ttfmake-1750242324\" class=\"ttfmake-button\" style=\"background-color: #171717;color: #ffffff;font-size: 16px;font-weight: bold;padding: 4px 10px;border-radius: 100px\" href=\"#\" data-hover-background-color=\"#171717\" data-hover-color=\"#ffffff\">\u00a0Bringing Joy Through Light<\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Book &#8211; Exploring Natural Connections with light reflection and shadow Halton, Treveon, Buchan.<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">After chatting to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.naturallearning.net.au\/\">Niki Buchan<\/a> at a recent practitioner festival about the power of light in children\u2019s scientific investigations, I was very much inspired to purchase a copy of this book she co-authored, to deepen my understanding of the interplay of light and materials and to to learn how children explore light interacting with different objects.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:220,&quot;335559739&quot;:220,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">You can read accounts of many different experiences, (clearly illustrated with photographs), where children are<\/span> <span data-contrast=\"none\">learning about concepts of light, reflection and shadow, \u00a0transparencies and translucency. \u00a0The book also highlights the affordances of light tables and light boxes, which in turn can <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">create various visual and stimulating sensory experiences. It also shows how <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">bringing digital and non-digital resources together,\u00a0 to explore how they connect and interact, is both an inviting and intriguing experience. Children can literally be immersed in their own explorations and investigation.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"ttfmake-1750242575\" class=\"ttfmake-button\" style=\"background-color: #171717;color: #ffffff;font-size: 16px;font-weight: bold;padding: 4px 10px;border-radius: 100px\" href=\"https:\/\/www.naturallearning.net.au\/about-us.html\" data-hover-background-color=\"#171717\" data-hover-color=\"#ffffff\">Natural Learning Educational Consultancy<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:220,&quot;335559739&quot;:220,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><strong>Additional related links:\u00a0<\/strong><\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nurseryworld.co.uk\/content\/features\/creativity-part-3-create-an-environment-that-invites-ideas-questions-and-enquiries\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Nursery World &#8211; Creativity part 3: Create an environment that invites ideas, questions and enquiries<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:220,&quot;335559739&quot;:220,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reggiochildren.it\/en\/rc\/ateliers\/atelier-in-presenza\/ray-of-light-atelier\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Reggio Children &#8211; Ray of Light Atelier<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tts-group.co.uk\/blog\/2023\/01\/04\/wonder-and-light-by-paola-lopez.html\">TTS &#8211; Wonder of Light by Paola Lopez<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tts-group.co.uk\/blog\/2023\/12\/20\/the-power-of-light.html\">TTS &#8211; The Power of Light by Ben Kingston-Hughes<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h1>Please feel free to share your thoughts on this topic via this <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.office.com\/e\/6rBYCN2HJC\">Microsoft Form<\/a><\/strong><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/public\/digilearn\/uploads\/sites\/6913\/2024\/09\/17110954\/Untitled-picture-qr-300x300.png\" \/><\/p>\n<h6><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Header image generated by Microsoft CoPilot.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\n<h6><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Images in blog post belong to post author.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h6>\n<h6><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you think of loose parts, do you ever consider light up resources?\u00a0 Small, inexpensive, battery operated torches, touch lights, string lights?\u00a0 \u00a0 The Thrive Outdoors Loose Parts Play Toolkit explains the origin and theory of loose parts, making reference to Simon Nicholson\u2019s research from 1971; The Theory of Loose Parts: How NOT to Cheat &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62065,"featured_media":24581,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1970,1985,3,2192],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-posts","category-elc","category-home-page-news","category-suggested-reading"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/public\/digilearn\/uploads\/sites\/6913\/2025\/02\/12112345\/Designer-1.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/digilearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/digilearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/digilearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/digilearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62065"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/digilearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24579"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/digilearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25704,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/digilearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24579\/revisions\/25704"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/digilearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/digilearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/digilearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/glowblogs\/digilearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}