Container Play: Toddler Loose Parts STEM Kit

The Container Play: Toddler Loose Parts STEM Kit is a dynamic and engaging set designed to inspire young children's creativity and problem-solving skills through tactile play and experimentation. This thoughtfully curated kit promotes sensory development, discovery, and the use of natural materials.

Suitable for children 18 months and older, the kit includes a variety of real and replica materials, such as wooden and felt balls, rings, and nested components. Children can explore different textures, colors, and configurations, using their imagination to create their own patterns and designs.

The included divided felt tray offers an organized way to sort and store the pieces, encouraging orderliness and helping children develop fine motor skills as they manipulate the materials. This open-ended set supports a range of play styles - from sensory exploration to pattern-making to creative design, providing endless opportunities for learning and fun.

Educational Benefits:

• Sensory Exploration: With a range of textures, shapes, and colours, this kit stimulates children's senses of touch, sight, and even sound as they interact with the pieces.
• STEM Development: Promotes foundational skills in science, technology, engineering, and math by encouraging experimentation with spatial relationships, balance, and construction.
• Fine Motor Skills: Manipulating the loose parts, sorting the pieces, and arranging them into new configurations help to build hand-eye coordination, grip strength, and dexterity.
• Problem-Solving & Creativity: The kit encourages children to mix and match components to discover new patterns, structures, and designs, enhancing their ability to think critically and creatively.
• Cognitive Growth: Understanding concepts such as shape, size, texture, and balance is an integral part of the play experience, helping children build early cognitive skills.
• Open-Ended Play: The variety of loose parts allows for endless combinations and configurations, making the kit suitable for a wide range of activities that promote independent and collaborative play.

Classroom Ideas:

• Exploration Stations: Set up a discovery corner where children can explore different textures and create their own designs using the loose parts.
• Pattern Making: Provide children with a challenge to replicate a simple pattern or design using the components. This will promote visual discrimination and sequencing.
• Fine Motor Development: Encourage children to use their pincer grasp to pick up and place the small pieces into different configurations, which helps strengthen fine motor muscles.
• Collaborative Play: Pair children together to build a shared creation, fostering social skills such as cooperation and negotiation.
• Sorting & Categorizing: Have children sort the pieces by colour, size, or type to enhance their categorization skills.

Recommended Age: 18+ months

Modern Teaching Aid's range of specialty educational toys have been designed to be welcoming, playful, safe, and interactive resources- supporting the core development of sight, sound, touch, gross and fine motor skills of babies and toddlers. MTA's nursery play room range includes wooden furnishings, play cubes and cots, featuring the exclusive range of Max & Rosie nursery essentials and the SafeSpace Toddler Furniture.