Many of our clients are educational institutions where psychologists and educators work. Most specialists are happy to share with us their opinion on the fun of their pupils with huge Mammutico blocks. Today we present to you some of those opinions on our biggest SIMPLE set in the context of the theory of loose elements.

Loose parts - why is it so important

The theory of loose elements was first formulated by the architect Simon Nicholson, who emphasized that:

in each environment, both the degree of inventiveness and creativity, as well as the possibility of discovery, are directly proportional to the number and type of variables in it.

As Ana Koorowska, the author of the text and podcast "An architect from Buford robbed a child. The theory of loose elements", explains on her blog, this means more or less that:

if children continue to play on ready-made playgrounds, where everything has been designed from A to Z, they will be passive recipients of the space prepared for them and will gradually lose their children's creativity and ingenuity.

Next, the author of the text gives an example of designing a playground:

An architect comes and designs a playground, having a great time (...). Then the construction worker comes and has fun too. (...) An architect creates a vision. The contractor makes the vision take real shape. And then the baby comes... And there's nothing left to do. Because everything was invented, designed, built. From A to Z. They left him nothing.

The theory of loose parts and a set of Mammutico foam blocks

What does "The Theory of Loose Parts" have to do with big SIMPLE bricks? Looking at the elements of the set, the answer suggests itself. Children have only 3 different shapes of the same dimensions at their disposal, and the blocks do not connect to each other in any way. And it is these features that make playing with such a set leave a huge field for the use of imagination!

With an area equipped only with a set of simple foam blocks, users will build elements that they currently feel like. By visiting the same place every day, they can change and adapt each time to the current mood and partners with whom they play.

The space filled with such elements, in addition to all the advantages associated with building with blocks, also provides the right dose of movement. Even stacking one block on top of another requires activity involving almost the entire body. Therefore, the space with large blocks also fulfills one of the basic functions of the playground, as a place where children can run around.

Loose elements,the main feature of the large SIMPLE bricks

As emphasized by the educator of a private kindergarten, where children have been playing with Mammutico blocks for several years, the elements of the SIMPLE set give a huge space to shape imagination and strengthen the sense of success. You will learn more about one of our largest and simplest sets in the opinion below. The basis for its writing was the opinion of a specialist. We also invite you to watch it.

Małgorzata Stępniak - Deputy Director and Teacher of the Kindergarten "Jedynka" Local Education Center in Pruszków

Kindergarten is a place where blocks are everyday life. Children always play with blocks and have always played with blocks. In the kindergarten where I work, we have a special pleasure to use Mammutico blocks (a large SIMPLE set) and we really see the great value of playing with this type of blocks on a daily basis.

In our facility, we used these blocks both in the classroom and on the playground and they worked great in both places. Despite the three simple shapes, kids really make all sorts of things out of them. In addition to having fun, we also observed a lot of educational values, a lot of joy and mutual interaction. The benefits of playing with big blocks are, of course, creativity and stimulating spatial imagination, but also learning to cooperate and communicate.

The blocks were a gift for children's day and our expectations were that, firstly, they would bring joy, and secondly, they would connect younger and preschoolers in play. Everything worked out perfectly.

SIMPLE blocks are seemingly unrelated to each other. We usually think of bricks as pieces that can be put together, but in this case we are dealing with loose pieces that are independent of each other. This feature is of great value, it is a huge field for shaping imagination - both spatial and internal. In addition, such fun gives a sense of success, there is no chance of failure here, something will always be built from such loose parts. You can change, you can add, rearrange - it's always interesting. Precisely because these are parts that are not connected to each other, the blocks simply do not get boring.