Beautiful and sparkly loose parts that have so much potential for play and learning! See how we like to use them ...
Pretty little gems and jewels make the perfect play item as they can be used in a range of ways for not only play, but playful learning too!
These beautiful loose parts have been a fantastic addition to our resource collection for play and learning. They are so inviting to play with and add fun to anything they are added to!
We have grown our sparkly little collection of little loose parts over time. Here is where some of our gems and jewels are from:
Gems - mini squares and coloured gems bought mostly from Pickwick and Sprout (online)
Big blue stones - a discount store. Keep your eye out at your local shops for some great loose parts!
Buttons - Officeworks
Plastic candy jars -Kmart Australia
Glass gemstones (not pictured here) - Bunnings in the craft aisle
*Important - All play ideas in this post are for ages 3+ as they include small parts which are a choking hazard. Always supervise all play.
Here are some fun ideas loose parts play ideas
using gems and jewels:
Gems and Jewels Playdough Invitation to Play
Smaller loose parts such as gems and jewels pair perfectly with playdough! Here we used them in a little tray as a decoration for playdough cupcakes and muffins. The magic of an invitation like this is that your child may play a completely different way than you think that they might! My kids ended up making playdough hair on a wooden spoon and cutting playdough snakes after playing cupcakes!
Gems and Jewels + Hundreds board
Gems and jewels pair perfectly with a hundreds board. This can invite colour sorting, counting, patterning and more.
Our hundreds board is Treasures from Jennifer brand with the colour gradient tiles shown here for colour sorting.
Gems and Jewels + Jars Simple Play Idea
This is such a simple, yet fun way to play! We used some plastic candy jars from Kmart Australia and a wooden tray.
Children may explore filling and emptying the jars or find others ways to play!
Through this simple invitation they can:
Colour sort
Work on eye hand coordination
Develop their fine motor skills picking up the little pieces
Explore capacity - full, empty, half full etc.
Learn new vocabulary
+ many other
Gems and Jewels Sensory Play Tray
Scoop, pour, collect the gems ... enjoy playing! The chickpeas make a lovely sound too!
We used:
Plain chickpeas
Gems, jewels and buttons
Scoops and spoons
Jars
Tip: Put your sensory tray near the play kitchen to invite some extra play - think filling the cups, tea pot, trays, pretend cooking etc. Lots of fun!
Gems and Jewels + Coloured Bowls
Tipping, filling pouring, emptying, colour sorting ... so many ways to play! Here we used our Grapat nest bowls, but this invitation to play could be set up with any kind of bowls. This is another great fine motor workout for little hands! Also great for hand eye coordination and imaginative play.
Gems and Jewels + Small World Play
Loose parts, such as gems and jewels are the perfect addition to small world play. Add in your child's imagination and the sky is the limit to what they might become!
Polar Themed Small World
Clear and blue coloured gems and jewels were ice and snow in this arctic small world. Other loose parts became the food for the animals.
Unicorn Themed Small World Tray
Gems and jewels became sparkly unicorn treasure to hide in the rainbow cave.
Thank you for reading this blog post!
There are so many play and learning possibilities when using loose parts such as gems and jewels! There were just a few ideas.
I hope you found some inspiration and are excited to use these fun materials with your child too!
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Until next time, have fun learning in a playful way!
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