Outdoor Play

Toddlers

What We Saw: A group of toddlers were playing outside on the playground equipment. One child noticed a broom that was up against a wall. He took the broom, and began to sweep the ground. The teacher saw this and went over to see what he was doing. She commented, "You are sweeping the ground." Then the teacher took another broom and swept up some of the leaves that were on the ground. She said, "Look, you can sweep up leaves with the broom." Two more toddlers came over and curiously explored the brooms. The children spent time busily sweeping up the leaves and pushing them in the corner of the play area. The teacher said, "I guess that's your job today, sweeping up the leaves." The children smiled and focused intently at their newfound activity.

What It Means: The outdoor environment in an early childhood program is an important part of the curriculum where children are engaging in physical, cognitive and socio-emotional learning. Even programs that have limited outdoor space have opportunities to visit parks, take walks and find relevant learning right near their facility. Teachers who cue in to the interests of children take outdoor learning to the next dimension as they respond to the curiosity and spontaneity of children. By talking to the children about the things we can hear, see, touch and feel we are sharpening their observation skills. When we ask open-ended questions we are encouraging reasoning and problem solving skills. Planning for outdoor play and being actively involved with the children is a recipe for quality early childhood services.

Preschool

What We Saw: The class was outside. One child came up to a teacher and asked her if they could play a jumping game that they had played before. A starting line was chosen on the sidewalk and this child jumped as far as he could and where he jumped the teacher marked a chalk line and his initial. Soon other children wanted to join in the jumping game. They all lined up next to each other and patiently waited their turn. After each child jumped, the teacher marked a line and their initial where they had landed. After one child jumped for the second time, the teacher said, pointing to two of the lines, "Look, this is your first one, this was your last one. See how much farther you jumped!" Another child jumped for a third time and the teacher said, "That one was in between your other jumps."

What It Means: One of the great delights of outdoor time is the unpredictability of what will interest children. Allowing preschoolers to initiate activities that interest them, appeals to their sense of independence and need for mastery. Teachers can facilitate games to ensure that they become an opportunity to promote social skills such as sharing and turn taking. Outdoor games such as this offer many opportunities to promote emergent mathematical thinking. Concepts such as first/last and in-between were reinforced in a very meaningful and personal way.

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