Dr Pete King on the Play Cycle and Loose Parts

Dr Pete King explains the play cycle, how it connects to loose parts theory, and why sometimes doing less in children's play means you're doing more. Essential viewing for early years practitioners.
· January 17, 2025

Dr Pete King has a PhD in Childhood Studies from the University of Swansea and is the programme manager for the MA Developmental and Therapeutic Play and MA Childhood Studies Programmes at the University of Swansea.

His research interests include the professionalisation of playwork, the use of the Play Cycle as an observational tool and how playwork can be considered as keyworking. Recent research also encompasses adults understanding of the Play Cycle and postgraduate perceptions of using lecture capture to support their study skills.

Dr King’s research has been published both nationally and internationally, including ‘The Play Cycle: Theory, Research and Application’, incorporating both current theory and research of the Play Cycle and an update on the Play Cycle and its application to practice across all play-related sectors, including the Early Years.

His latest book about the Play Cycle will be published in 2025.

Dr King also has a paper being published soon in the American Journal of Play on ‘The Play Cycle and the Adult Role within pPay-based Learning’.

In this fascinating interview, Dr King breaks down the elements of the play cycle and explains how it connects with other key theories like loose parts and affordances. He shares insights that will help practitioners better understand children’s play behaviours and explains why sometimes doing less can actually mean you’re doing your job better.

In this episode you’ll:
• Discover the six elements of the play cycle and how understanding them can help you support children’s play more effectively
• Learn why standing back and observing might be exactly the right thing to do (and how to explain this to others)
• Explore how viewing people as ‘loose parts’ in the play environment can transform your practice
• Understand why short play cycles aren’t a problem – they’re actually a sign you need more loose parts
• Find out how the play cycle can help you distinguish between play behaviour and inappropriate behaviour

If you’ve ever wondered why some children flit from activity to activity while others stay engaged for ages, or wanted to better understand when to get involved in play and when to step back, this session will give you the theoretical framework to support your instincts.

This episode was originally broadcast on the 19th of May 2023

His latest book about the Play Cycle will be published in 2025.

Dr King also has a paper being published soon in the American Journal of Play on ‘The Play Cycle and the Adult Role within pPay-based Learning’.

Links:

https://www.swansea.ac.uk/staff/p.f.king/
https://twitter.com/Dr_Pete_King
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0273-8191

https://www.swansea.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/

The Play Cycle (in a nutshell): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qfqjy4IHr0&t=40s

Dr King’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@drpeteking1751

https://amzn.to/3DGqKlC or on the Routledge website here: https://www.routledge.com/search?author=Pete%20King

Further Reading:

King, P. & Newstead, S. (2019). Re-defining the Play Cycle – an empirical study on playworkers’ understanding of playwork theory. Journal of Early Childhood Research.

Sturrock G and Else, P. (1998) ‘The Colorado Paper’ – The playground as therapeutic space: Playwork as healing. In P Else and G Sturrock (Ed.) (2006), Therapeutic playwork reader one 1995– 2000 (pp. 73–104). Eastleigh, Common Threads Publications Ltd:

https://www.oxonplay.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Colorado-Paper.pdf

A Theoretical Expansion of the Play Cycle Jakob von Uexküll’s Functional Cycle and the Perceptual Cue by Dr Pete King available here: https://www.museumofplay.org/app/uploads/2022/08/14-2-Article-3-Play-Cycle.pdf

Nicholson, Simon. (1971). “How NOT to Cheat Children: The Theory of Loose Parts.” Landscape Architecture 62:30–34.

Gibson, James Jerome. (1986). The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception.

Read more about Types and Stages of Play in the Early Years here.

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