Celebrating Outdoor Play. Outdoor Play Prepares Your Kids for School. Outdoor play is a priority for our family.
I consider outdoor play more important than formal schooling for toddlers and preschoolers. A few weeks ago, I made a controversial statement on The Golden Gleam's Facebook page. Basically, I was upset that the United States is moving towards universal preschool yet I am discouraged that I don't see many preschoolers playing in our parks and playgrounds. I lost a lot of fans by making that statement. Understandably, those who work in preschools or send their children to public preschool have a right to feel offended by it. I am not against preschools or preschool teachers. I am against keeping our youngest children indoors for hours at at time, almost every day of the week. I am against preschools not considering unstructured outdoor play as a pivotal part of their preschools' curriculum.
I am against the idea that parents are encouraged to think that academic learning is more important than unstructured play for our youngest children. Why Have an Outdoor Classroom? 10 articles on children's play in nature. Kids with autism benefit from outdoor classroom. Zoom It was a crisp March day outside Blaydon Public School when teachers discovered that 4-year-old Alex Wong could spell his name.
There were no pencils or paper in sight. Everyone was bundled in winter jackets. Alex, who has autism, was in the outdoor classroom where his special-needs class played and explored for at least an hour every day, alongside 25 kids from the mainstream kindergarten class. Teacher Sue Cooper noticed Alex march over to a pile of wood, put three sticks in a small wheelbarrow and push it to a spot on the pavement. Cooper’s jaw dropped. Alex is non-verbal and for a long time, his only interactions had been to throw things or hit. View 7 photos zoom Richard Lautens / Toronto Star Order this photo Michelle Brillantes, left, explores the outdoor classroom at Blaydon Public School.
The teachers say his is one example of how daily outdoor time is changing the way their young students — including those autism and other special needs — learn and behave. Are children losing touch with nature and does it matter if they are? « Outdoor Nation. Play expert, Bob Hughes, writes about the importance of outdoor play for children with those of their own age Children in the garden at Moseley Old Hall, Staffordshire.
Copyright ©National Trust Images/Arnhel de Serra. It is true that today’s children are not generally as likely to become immersed in, for example, natural play experiences as were previous generations. Until the 1960’s children would have not only have played outdoors but the outdoors would have provided them with the bulk of their play props, and the backdrops for their play narratives. In short, they would not only have played in the outdoors but with the outdoors too. Does it matter? John Byers tells us “The idea is that natural selection designed play to shape brain development, and most likely they [children] are directing their own brain assembly”.
This wonderful and complex proposition, highlights that: However, this proposition loses much of its richness if only seen in an indoor, urban or technological context. Outdoor Classroom Benefits - Classroom In Nature. Redesigning Recess: Why Kids Need Natural Playgrounds. Two preschoolers live in a city. Los Angeles, perhaps, or Houston. Both attend full-time preschool. Both are learning to write their names and developing social skills through peer interactions.
Both profess enduring love for Daniel Tiger and the color yellow. On paper, these two children emerge from similar circumstances and have similar educational experiences and opportunities. Charlotte has two 20-minute recess breaks each day. Ivy's preschool recently added an outdoor classroom. The contrast is stark, but it’s also infinitely mendable. Creative, hands-on outdoor experiences like those Ivy is exposed to are an essential piece of the child development puzzle. Nature Explore can help bridge this gap. Want to introduce the kids—or educators—in your life to a Nature Explore classroom? Images courtesy of Nature Explore.