Monday, March 1, 2021

Local Loose Parts Nature Play Options Available

Local Loose Parts Nature Play Options Available 

Work/live within 1.5 hours of Goshen, Indiana? Feel free to reach out to me about visiting your school, party, club, or community event! 

 

A variety of options are available. We can do a combination of options that fit in my vehicle. Please list top three you would like to have your students experience. Of course, all of these things can be used in conjunction with other items. There is no rigid definition of what should be used in what “zone” or area. Loose parts are free to mingle amongst the play! Supporting books are available for all zones upon request. Fees start at $60 depending on number of participants, options requested, length of session, and location. Send me an inquiry at insideoutsidemichiana@gmail.com with desired date(s), approximate time, location, description of your outdoor space, contact information, and top 3 play options.

 

Suggested Options (though I can work custom magic as well!):

 

Cardboard Construction! We both supply cardboard. I bring cardboard tools, tape, connector examples, and accessories for large and/or individual cardboard builds. Items with cardboard and tape only can stay at your site or go home with the child/family. Specialty cardboard connectors would go home with me. 

 

Build Your Own Obstacle Course An open outdoor space is perfect for children and families to create their own obstacle courses! Large outdoor loose parts and stop watches will be available. 

 

Mud Play! Any space can be turned into a snow, potion, or mud station, depending on the weather. I bring mud friendly pots, pans, utensils, and accessories to transform your area into a small mud zone. You supply the mud (or I can bring a smaller amount), I’ll bring jugs of water depending on how large your group is.

 

Simple Machines Outdoors Explore basic concepts of simple machines through outdoor loose parts! Try options around levers, pulleys, screws, wedges, inclined planes, and wheel and axle. This is a fun play option with open-endedness to have hands-on options to experiment with simple machines.  

 

Ramps Explorations! Large PVC, wooden, and specialty ramps, height building materials, and many rolling, sliding, and non-rolling options to stimulate ramp inquiry! Indoor options can also be provided.

 

 

Math, Loose Parts, and Nature Math is all around us in nature! Let’s take the tools of math outdoors, as well as use natural and manufactured loose parts to explore numeracy and mathematical concepts. 

 

Small World Play A variety of small world play can be available such as dinosaurs, fairies, local animals, and vehicles. Combine characters with tree cookies, pine cones, glass pebbles, rocks, and more for children to create small world play. 


 

Building Blocks and More Building is a great adventure! I’ll bring a variety of wooden blocks, tree cookies, specialty blocks, and loose parts add ons for open-ended building options. 

 

Pulley Play Try a variety of pulley options and challenges. Trees with lower branches or other structures to throw a rope over are essential for this zone. I’ll provide ropes, baskets and containers, stuffies, weighted materials, noise exploration, and ways to make colors fly. 

 

Fort Building Large pieces of fabric, tarps, rope, clamps, crates, building sets, sheets, and clothespins, along with existing on site materials, are available to create forts, dens, and other construction options.

 Nature Play Field guides, bug catchers, tweezers, scavenger hunts, and other open-ended nature play options will be available along with several themed nature play “kits” with materials to support a particular topic (birds, amphibians, shapes in nature, transient art, etc.) 

 

Dramatic Play Scarves, greenery, pieces of fabric, costume materials, and dramatic play options will be available to enhance play. 

 

Transient Art Large frames, natural items, sticks, and some manufactures items will be available to create! I’ll bring examples from various artists and look forward to seeing the children’s imaginations soar! 


 

Music and Movement A variety of handmade and manufactured musical items, scarves, hand ribbons, and items to explore sound round out these noisy options!