Loose Parts, Big Ideas: Creating Space for Math Play in TK
In our TK classroom, math is not confined to worksheets or flashcards—it’s alive in the spaces where children build, sort, compare, and imagine. At this age, young learners thrive when they can explore materials with their hands and minds. Loose parts and manipulatives—like plastic bunnies, blocks, bears, sticks, shells, and stones—offer endless possibilities for children to experiment with math concepts authentically and joyfully. Inviting children to create and construct purposefully nurtures flexible thinking, spatial awareness, and number sense. Most importantly, we show them that they can do and play with math.
Two new books shared with our class that support this approach are Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg and The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires.
Beautiful Oops! Celebrates the idea that mistakes and messes can lead to creative breakthroughs. This mindset is essential and an everyday school practice. When children engage in hands-on math, they might stack blocks that tumble or miscount buttons, but each experience builds understanding and confidence.
Meanwhile, The Most Magnificent Thing highlights the power of perseverance and design thinking. Like the main character who builds and rebuilds her invention, TK students use loose parts to test ideas, solve problems, and make sense of the world around them. These stories pair perfectly with an environment that values process over product, encouraging young mathematicians to explore, invent, and discover.
The TK Bunnies really do love to use loose parts. I love watching how their minds work and the support they give to each other.
When children are given the time, space, and materials to explore math on their own terms, something magical happens—they begin to see themselves as capable thinkers and problem-solvers.
What will your child create today?
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