Outdoor play is a mandatory continuous provision within the setting which children explore their knowledge through play outside the classroom, focusing on the prime and specific areas of the EYFS. Outdoor play describes how some children learn or assimilate through play, how they learn, what they learn and the impact on their development. The importance of outdoor play helped to increase the levels of physical activity along many positive influences on a child’s well- being, such as opportunities to understand and respect the natural world.
Children develop personal, social and emotional skills through the outdoor play as they absorb what they see and hear through interactions with their practitioners and their environment. The setting is proud
The practitioner in an early years setting supporting children’s play learning and development is extremely important, as play helps stimulate the child’s brain, supports their needs on an educational level, as well as helping them with social difficulties such as building relationships, developing them and helping them gain confidence. Many people believe that a child learns best when they are motivated, such as Fredrich Froebel. He believed that children benefitted from all types of play. The McMillan sisters believed that outdoor play was extra important as they studied children who played and slept outside and discovered that they were the happier and healthier children in comparison to those who only played inside.
Children need to experiment outdoors as there is so much to learn. Children can learn in each of the areas and develop their skills. During play children are learning to socialise with each other, playing in small groups and taking turns which builds there confidence up. They also develop their motor skills through playing outdoors, running, jumping, walking and crawling. Children will learn to take risks
Modern-day, stresses and nerves – and, it ought to be said, an open-air world which truly is less youngster amicable than ever before – has prompted a hazard opposed a culture that discovers expression in oppressive well-being and security arrangements which neglect to measure the advantages of a given movement against the dangers included. Suppliers of kids' play areas, in a similar manner as numerous open administrations, are in dread in case of even minor scratches. So they progressively blunder in favour of alert, putting intensely in effect retaining surfaces and gear that thoroughly meets well-being gauges yet regularly needs genuine play value.Free and unstructured play in the outside lifts critical thinking abilities, centre and self-restraint. Socially, it enhances participation, adaptability, and mindfulness. Enthusiastic advantages incorporate diminished animosity and expanded happiness.Children will be more quick-witted, better ready to coexist with others, more beneficial and more joyful when they have normal open doors for nothing and unstructured play in the out-of-entryways. In a current study a third of kids believed that there was a leaf that can soothe a nettle sting; as per the review, more than seventy-percent of the youngsters that participated in the research have never climbed a tree. Abominable! Ask anybody more than forty to relate to you their most loved recollections of adolescence play, and few will be inside. Less still will include a grown-up.
The relationship between play and learning seems obvious to many child professionals and parents, and yet there are still lack of understanding surrounding the importance of children's play. Some people believe that children need to "work" not play, and that playing serves no useful purpose in a learning and development environment. This is surprising considering that play, with its high levels of motivation and potential enjoyment empowers children (as well as people
“Current theories about inclusive play revolve around the idea that play is important for life and that all play workers should be committed to creating play environments that are inclusive and that offer multi-sensory experiences for all children. Play environments should ensure children and young people can become involved in imaginary play and can help develop motor activity. They should also allow interaction in a safe environment. Play is seen as the language that can bring children of all different abilities together. All children and young people have the same basic needs and go through the same development stages, even though they may not all go through them at the same pace: some go through some stages more quickly than most, while others may become static in their development for a while. None of this should prevent access to any setting. Through play with other children they develop social skills and learn about behaviour, communication and friendship. Play is the tool for practical learning
Practitioners who show good practice understand the early years educators theories and take inspiration from them. They also identify the benefits of outdoor play and promote it at their settings for children’s learning and development.
“Outdoor education is in line with current thinking, but also echo’s the philosophy of the McMillan sisters. Practitioners today should be aware of the opportunities afforded by outdoor provision, not only in terms of developing children’s learning, but also with positive benefits to their health” (Cooper 2004)
Being outdoors has a positive impact on children's sense of well-being and helps all aspects of children's development.
"Daily outdoor play is an important part of children’s learning and is required by the EYFS. It offers many new learning experiences, and boosts mental and physical wellbeing and confidence. Free-flow play adds
The Early Years Learning Framework relates the importance of play to notions of belonging, being and becoming. It states that children make sense of their social worlds through playing with others (DEEWR, 2009). Article 13 of the UN Convention reads that every child has the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child (Connor, 2010). It is important to note that play has multiple approaches and that children’s play varies greatly according to culture, interests,
With today\'s high tech world of handheld mobile devices, video games, affordable giant TV\'s and other gadgets it would be hard to convince a kid that there is a world out there beyond their screens. Years ago children yearned to be outside and to explore everything nature has to offer. Research over the years has not only shown that kids used to love being outdoors, but they were healthier because of it. Getting kids outside can be a challenge today, but it will be worth it when they realize being outside can be a lot of fun. This infographic takes a look at some of the research that proves that outdoor play is incredibly beneficial to the development of a child and explains why they should get outdoors as often as possible. There are also
Play is an activity that develops imagination, and although unstructured play is getting progressively diminished time in children’s lives as a result of technology, family lifestyles, beliefs, and obligations, and the current educational policy of shrinking down the curriculum, it is still most preschoolers’ everyday occupation. Unstructured, outdoor play where children have “access to the world at large” would seem to be the method of choice of the type of play that offers the most cognitive and affective benefits, according to researchers and educators (White & Stoecklin, 1998). In his book, Last Child In the Woods, Richard Louv quotes Professor Robin Moore, an international
Children are motivated to engage in active play because they perceived it to be enjoyable, to prevent boredom, to have physical and mental health benefits and to provide freedom from adult control, rules and structure. However, children’s active play can be constrained by a number of factors, including weather. Some features of the physical environment facilitated children’s active play, including the presence of green spaces and cul-de-sacs in the neighbourhoods (Brockman and colleagues, 2011). Physically active play can make unique contributions to children’s development which cannot be obtained from more structured forms of physical activity.
At our center we strongly encourage both family and community members to actively involve themselves in our outdoor play areas as much as they can. This in turn will help with the development of your child’s sense of “belonging, being and becoming” (ADEEW, 2009) which is vital for growth and development formation but in addition willl also strengthen their play experience, feeling of wellbeing and overall learning (Australian Children 's Education & Care Quality Authority [ACECQA, 2013, standard 6).
Children gain vast benefits from learning outdoors. Being outdoors allows them to move around without many of the restrictions of being inside (Early Years Foundation Stage, 2014). Gardening is an appropriate project to be carried out as an outdoor play. Children experienced the outdoor environment freely. Outside is a natural place for children to