Loose Parts and Risky Play

What are Loose Parts?​

​

​Loose parts are open-ended materials that can be moved, combined, taken apart, and reimagined in countless ways. They can be natural (like sticks, rocks, pinecones, water) or manufactured (like tires, ropes, fabric, buckets, wooden planks). Because they don’t have a fixed purpose, loose parts spark creativity, problem-solving, and imaginative play. Children are free to explore, build, experiment, and invent—

making each interaction unique and meaningful.

​

​Loose parts naturally support the Montessori principle of auto-education, where children learn through self-directed, hands-on experience. These materials allow for intrinsic motivation, repetition, refinement of movement, and imaginative expression—all essential elements of the Montessori approach to support the developing whole child.

​

What is Risky Play?

​

Risky play refers to thrilling and challenging physical activities that carry a perceived risk of injury—but are, in fact, essential for healthy child development. It includes climbing to heights, balancing on logs, using tools, rough-and-tumble play, and moving at speed. ​Risky play helps children learn to assess danger, make decisions, and push their physical and emotional boundaries in a safe, supported way. It builds confidence, resilience, motor skills, and self-regulation. Rather than eliminating risk entirely, developmentally appropriate risky play empowers children to engage with it wisely.​

Dr. Montessori emphasized the importance of freedom within limits and trusted the child’s ability to develop judgment and responsibility through real experiences. Risky play mirrors this philosophy—it respects the child’s need for independence, movement, and purposeful challenge, while offering opportunities to build inner discipline and confidence through natural consequence and self-correction.​