Topic One: Outdoor Environments
In ELC 120 we began to think about the importance of outdoor experiences for young children. We read an article by Jim Greenman that alerted us to the increasingly common tendency for children to remain sedentary, spending many hours watching TV, videos, computers and IPADs. There are a number of reasons for that, including the modern world where parents are worried about allowing children to be outside without supervision. We recognize that the freedom of the past that allowed children to explore the outside environment is often not available to young children in the same way it once was.
In ELC 121, we continue our exploration in a deeper way, building a more in depth appreciation of the value of outside play and the multiple benefits it provides to children. As we understand the 
impact of the current sedentary lifestyle on children’s overall health, it is also apparent that Early Learning and Care programs have a significant opportunity to provide active outside time and connection with nature to the young children in our programs. It couldn’t be more important. Dietze and Kashin identify that “about half (49 percent) of Canadian children aged 5 – 12 years of age are not physically active enough to receive health benefits” (page 129). This is an alarming statistic that reveals a pattern that could impact health across the lifespan, increasing the likelihood of such health issues as bone density, heart problems, diabetes and obesity.
We can look at each area of development and see the significant benefit of vigorous outdoor play.
Take a look at Chapter 5 in Dietze and Kashin to see a full description of the benefits in the following areas: cognitive, social, emotional, physical, and spiritual growth and development (pp. 135-138).
Physical development: Vigorous outdoor play provides “basic motor skills, including walking, running, jumping climbing, hopping, skipping, sliding and peddling as well as manipulative skills such as throwing, catching, kicking, striking and bouncing; and stability abilities including bending, stretching, swinging, twisting and beam-walking” (p.136).
Cognitive Development: Within the outside play environment children have more opportunities to take risks, actively explore, use their body and mind together while they problem solve and use their imagination and thinking skills (p. 133). Dietze and Kashin provide examples of observations of outside play where children: “used a variety of cognitive skills including... addition and subtraction, shape identification, patterning, one-to-one correspondence, number sense ...” (p. 134).
Social Development: The outside environment provides the unstructured space and encouragement for children to engage in sociodramatic play with groups of children that involves “cooperation, negotiation, sharing, problem solving, self-regulation, and appreciation of another’s play efforts” (p. 135).
Emotional Development: Children engaged in active outdoor play have an opportunity to release energy and big emotions in an acceptable way as they run, scream and play exciting action packed games. The outside environment also allows children to find quiet spaces where they can appreciate nature and feel a sense of connection. Dietze and Kashin describe the natural connection that human beings have to nature. “Evolutionary psychologists use the term biophilia. This term refers to an innate, hereditary emotional attraction that humans have to nature” (p. 138).
Spiritual Development: Opportunities to spend time in nature allow children’s natural sense of wonder about the world, the meaning of life and death and a respect and appreciation that brings with it an inner sense of peace and connection.
There is no doubt about the contribution that outdoor play can make to child development. In order for that contribution to occur, quality outdoor play needs:
- Adequate space
- A variety of equipment
- Sufficient time
- Careful planning
- Appropriate guidance.
Dietze and Kashin include an interesting discussion on the benefits of risk taking in young children’s play and development (pp. 140-143). In our increasingly safety conscious world, we are reducing children’s ability to engage in play that tests the limits of their abilities, and allows them to climb, jump, balance, and run on a variety of surfaces, testing their strength, flexibility and endurance. “Children need the freedom to take risks in their play, experience new challenges, and have opportunities to test ideas as part of the risk management process” (Transfer, 2005, in Dietze and Kashin, p. 141).
Early Childhood Educators must be able to observe and identify the skills and abilities of each child and also evaluate the environment for safety, hazards and also acceptable risks. When the Canadian Standards Association developed safety standards for young children’s outdoor play equipment, there was a movement away from natural landscapes to more prescribed and approved man-made playground equipment. These materials are often made out of plastic and provide such little risk and challenge that children become bored and uninspired in their play. We will look at a return to a more nature based natural landscape for outdoor play in topic two.
Planning the Outdoor Play Space
In the past we made sure we had wheeled toys, swings, balls and a sandbox for children to engage in large motor play. Funding for the playground often had to rely on fundraising dollars and was not as high on the priority list as it currently is.
Today, we are thinking about the outdoors in a broader and more holistic way. Along with the more natural playscapes that are built into the design... the hills, grasses, trees, shrubs, rocks, gardens, and local landscape, we also include a variety of play zones, such as adventure, active play, and quiet learning and play, with a variety of materials and types of activities and opportunities for children’s play (Dietze and Kashin, p. 144). It is important to access information about toxic and non-toxic trees and shrubbery. Go to the following link to access information about toxic and safe plants and trees inside and outside.
Dietze and Kashin remind us that we must think about the design of the outside play space, by balancing active and reflective, wet and dry, quiet and noisy, spaces, with well planned and identifiable pathways between them. We recognize that the outside provides the space for the loud and active play and we make sure to plan this space and provision it with a good selection of materials for vigorous and active play. We use the natural landscape and take advantage of little nooks that can be used for quiet and solitary play and if they don’t exist naturally, we find creative and aesthetically pleasing ways to design them (P. 144). Dietze and Kashin describe longer and more complex play that occurs when we integrate our outside play space and provide a variety of play zones.
Read through pages 144 – 151 to see the variety of materials that can provision the types of spaces and zones listed above. There is an emphasis on natural materials such as sand and water, trees and gardens, and also large grassy areas, tricycle-riding surfaces and dramatic play props and materials.
Outside provides a different type of environment to engage in painting and exploring art materials, especially with the inclusion of natural materials such as leaves, twigs, and rocks. The increased space, the patterns available in nature and the sensory experience of the atmosphere influences a child’s imagination, exploration and creative process.
Access the on-line article Outside Spaces , to see a great variety of interesting and rich playground design that provides diverse learning for infants and toddlers. The use of natural materials such as sand, twigs, leaves, dirt, water, and tree stumps provide sensory based play with wonderful potential for stimulating imagination and learning.
Ideally, an outdoor space should be adjacent to the centre and accessible from the playrooms and the bathrooms if possible. It must be fenced (regulations require this) and part of the playground should be covered so that outdoor play includes a place to get out of the weather but remain outside.
It has been interesting for me to notice a pattern of behaviour in Early Childhood Educators that reveals a reluctance to venture outside, especially if the weather is not perfect. Dietze and Kashin also begin chapter 5 with a story from the field about an ECE student who began her education believing that the important work happened indoors and that when she was outside with the children (if she was made to go!) she could relax, have a coffee and just ‘let the children play’ (p. 128). I have noticed that she isn’t the only ECE to feel this way.
Think about your own attitude to being outside with children and notice any barriers to open participation in outdoor opportunities. Children certainly are able to pick up on our disinterest or discomfort and may take on these attitudes as well.
Sufficient Time
Programs need to provide enough time outdoors for children to feel satisfied that they have had a good play. Children should have opportunities to be outside in both the morning and afternoon. At least an hour ensures that children can relax into their play and develop more complexity in their play scripts and collaborations with others. When we include a wide variety of possibilities for children outside, there will be as many learning opportunities as we provide in the inside environment.
Planning
Planning for outdoor play is too often neglected in ELC programs. Just as we observe patterns of play inside our programs and regularly vary materials and provision to support curiosity and learning, we need to do the same outdoors. We need to vary and rotate equipment and materials in various interest areas like the sand box, the art area, dramatic play and music. We can take advantage of the natural materials and landscapes that stimulate imagination and curiosity and provide such props as blankets or tents, digging tools, large wheeled toys, rakes, etc. If we plan an environment for exploration and discovery it will happen, especially if we are matching our materials to the interests and play scripts of the children.
Appropriate Guidance
Educators need to use a variety of direct and indirect guidance techniques outdoors as we do indoors.
Indirectly, we guide the children’s play by setting up the environment in advance, implementing plans for variety by rotation of materials and equipment and designing opportunities based on children’s interests. We also need to make sure there are enough opportunities for the number of children in the group.
Directly, we model enthusiasm and enjoyment for the children rather than standing about, shivering and looking miserable. We interact with the children, observing the group as a whole and giving the children our full attention. We also encourage sharing, taking turns, making choices, independence and problem solving and negotiating skills. We anticipate problems before they occur (for examples not enough shovels in the sandbox). We are physically close enough to assist if a steadying hand is necessary or if intervention would support the group. Finally if necessary, we state the limits firmly when safety is an issue.
In the discussion this module you will have a chance to remember your own outdoor experiences as a child and share them with the class.
Take a look at the following two YouTube clips to see two different presentations on outdoor design and programming:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7XU86FlXww
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dh_XE40mj4`