A Peek Inside Our Playroom: Trees & Loose Parts

Something about the dead of winter makes me itch to get outside and play! And it is only fitting that it is typically in the dead of winter that Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish "new year of the trees" is celebrated, honoring the new season for fruit trees in Israel. Here in the mid-Atlantic US, our fruit trees are still pretty dormant. It will be a couple of months yet before we see buds and blossoms and the return of their leaves. But trees of all kinds are something to be celebrated (and played about) in any season! And one of my very favorite ways to play is with loose parts.


Over the past few weeks, I've gradually stocked and shifted materials on our shelves that have something to do with trees--whether it's that they are made from wood, come from a tree, are about trees or some of the wildlife that live in them...

Our Nature Table is set up for some Tree-riffic Small World Play...

Whether it's building and designing with loose parts on our rug, sculpting with salt dough, small world play or constructing, deconstructing and reconstructing foam trees with loose parts, there's something for everyone here--even little C!

I began by stocking our play shelves with various wooden loose parts and blocks, tree blocks, cinnamon sticks, wooden peg people, seasonal accents and decorations having to do with trees and even a collection of wooden teething toys in various shapes.

Sometimes the kids will play with a set up of loose parts for weeks and other times, I can tell when it starts to get a bit stale... In this case, rather than do a huge overhaul, I add something in, maybe swap a few things. Who says trees can't also be a celebration of color? So I added in some burlap ribbon, and later our wooden Grimms rainbow stacker and peg people set, some felt squares and rainbow scarves...

And just like that, it's as if it were brand spankin' new!

A small world setup by S

How far can you go...

Meanwhile, at the atelier...

The boys worked on sculptures with salt dough and a variety of loose parts including feathers, sticks, pussy willow branches, peg clothespins, cinnamon sticks, wooden craft sticks, golf tees, and other small wooden loose parts. I set out some clay/dough tools as well. This could certainly also be done with clay or playdough. I chose salt dough for it's ability to air dry in case the boys would create something they wanted to preserve.





When the salt dough was past its prime, I swapped in some craft foam "trees," and golf tees, feathers, sticks and pussy willow branches, artificial flowers, leaves, snowflakes, apples and even some random cabinet knobs I once purchased for a project that didn't work out...

I was amazed at how into this the boys got. The sculptures emerged, shifted, morphed, changed and even came with stories...

A creation by Y

A creation by S

Another one of Y's masterpieces...

S's "Robotic Tree. He has arms, a face and holes that caterpillars munched in him..."

"...he even has feet!"

Trees are such a versatile and wonderful play theme no matter the season or the reason!

Want to do more?

• Read here for more about trees
• Read here for more about Tu b'Shevat, to be celebrated this year on Monday, February 10, 2020 (beginning sundown the night before)

Well, I've got to make like a tree and leave! We'll be back soon and until then...

Happy Playing!