With warmer days ahead, outdoor play is something many children and parents are looking forward to! Outdoor play is also a wonderful way to incorporate movement and exercise into your child’s day, while providing opportunities for them to learn in a number of different ways.

With the use of our Large play yards, we have the opportunity to watch and interact with childrens imagination. As we step out of the classroom with many structured activities in learning we get the opportunity to watch th echildren explore and interact with one an other. This is a large part of where we discover what th echildren are ost interested in and we incorpaorate those ideas into our learning environemtn indoors.

It also gives them free time to explore and learn in new ways. Because of that, outdoor play does not need a lot of elaborate equipment to be fun and productive for children.

Could you image being a child again and playing with a stick for hours, because its become a magic wand and then its a bakers stirring spoon, or a hockey stick that shot the winning goal. Oh the things the children explore and grow at doing.

In the nice weather we enjoy bringing our clasrooms outside, we teach many areas outdoors other then outdoor play, we offer art, gross motor, science and sensory with many materials from our natural environment to explore.

What skills does outdoor play help children develop?

Peer to peer interaction: During unstructured outdoor play, children have the freedom to engage with their peers and understand how to interact with one another. It also allows children to develop and express their individual personalities. Some children like being the leader, while others prefer to go along with the group and some enjoy playing on their own. Yet other children enjoy doing all three. Outdoor play lets children establish relationships with their peers in the way they feel most comfortable.

Language Skills: By freely interacting with peers, children have the opportunity to speak to one another, have conversations and continue improving their language skills.

Gross Motor Skills: Outdoor play allows children to work on their whole body movement. This includes actions like alternating their feet to walk up and down the stairs, bouncing, climbing and jumping. Spatial awareness is also a skill that outdoor play helps to make children aware of. This includes a child’s ability to navigate through equipment, learning to avoid bumping into objects and being mindful of looking ahead rather than behind them when walking. These are skills a child will benefit from on a daily basis, but need to be practiced!