“Nature breeds curiosity. It helps to grow explorers. It reminds us that we are part of something bigger. It grounds us, calms us” – Ben Palmer-Fry
Outdoor play is an important part of childhood. It’s exciting to see children in their natural environment, exploring their surroundings. Playing outdoors expands a child’s horizons. It is shown to have a greater impact on children’s learning and development than playing indoors.
Natural environments bring about many benefits for children, such as a natural way for them to do physical activities, develop fine and gross motor skills as well exploring their capabilities in taking calculated risks.
Children need to experience outdoor play, as it provides opportunities to explore, experiment, practice, push their limits, yell, sing, create and experience extreme joy.
Outdoor play is the perfect environment for spontaneous play that comes naturally from the children’s natural curiosity and love for play. Children learn best when all of their senses are involved and are engaged in self-initiated hands-on exploration of the world around them. When compared with their peers, children who spend more time outdoors typically exhibit:
- Improved motor skills
- Lower body mass index
- Improved overall health
- Improved muscle strength
While there are many physical benefits, there are also many social developmental benefits, including:
- Increased openness with adults
- Greater self-awareness
- Appreciation for their environments
- Stronger in practicing mental exercises
- Improved peer-to-peer relationships when playing and mingling with others
- Improving a stronger personality development
- Aid with brain development and communication skills
- Expand learning space
It is no secret that each child plays differently at different stages of their lives, therefore some fun examples of outdoor play activities and games that you can let your child explore either for themselves or involvement with adult supervision can include:
- Cycling
- Flying a kite
- Hide and seek
- Make believe play i.e., traffic cop
- Flying drones
- Planting a garden of vegetables, fruits or flowers
- Identifying tree types in the forest and many more
- Hiking and many more.
It is human nature to find comfort in familiar routines. Therefore, make going outside a regular activity, reconnect with nature and remember that all of the expensive equipment cannot replace the experience of hands-on experiences with natural materials, outdoor spaces are full of open-ended materials with endless opportunities of play.
Article by Teacher Jiri, Gaborone International Preschool
