Outdoor Spaces

Team building is an ongoing process that helps a work group evolve into a cohesive unit.

This article embraces the idea of sharing space with different centres and collaborating with the community in order to create playground space for children to explore and learn.

Keeping in Touch Edition, exploring a poem shared about letting children be children and what comes with being a child, allows educators to understand the importance of outdoor and indoor programming.

Nurturing capabilities through outdoor experiences for children in your care, through a structure and intentionality that also promotes social relationships.  

Exploring the outdoors for play and exploration on rainy days.  

The document provides information about the Child Care Design layout and the regulations and standards that centres must meet according to Government Standards.

Children, Outdoor Play and Loose Parts by Caileigh Flannigan and Beverlie Dietze 

This journal article investigates the development benefits of preschool children in a rural outdoor natural environment interacting with loose parts.

Recognizing the environment as a teacher and creating a flexible space that is designed with input from children creates many possibilities for learning and growth.

This video discusses the concepts and the benefits of Forest Nature Schools and how it allows for inclusivity of all children to explore.

Throughout this video, it discusses the three ingredients of outdoor play which are: time, space, and freedom and why these are important for children’s holistic development.  

Water play activities can be simple, clever and are great for a group. They are cost effective and can be done using materials already found at your childcare centre. Try some water relay races. To increase the challenge add an obstacle course. Have the children use items such as plastic bottles, funnels, pool noodles, basins and plastic tie wraps to create a water wonderland.

This resource provides a series of activities that educators can use to engage with learners this summer. 

https://citywidetraining.ca/resources/community-activities-for-summer-planning.html

This resource discusses how frequently played games can be  played in the playground, setting bring a fresh and exciting to a new environment. 

With summer programming comes alot of outdoor play, this resource is for educators to create an engaging programming for the very busy child to remembering sun and heat safety.  Especially for the child who is unable to consider this on their own. With all that extra outdoor time summer can be an excellent opportunity to work on gross motor skills.

This resource povides some easy and inexpensive fun things you can do at your day care or at home with your family. These can be adapted for most ages and abilities.

https://citywidetraining.ca/resources/8-fun-summer-for-family-child-care-programs.html

This resources provides educators an opportunity to be creative with structures already in the playground. The permanent climbing structure is one of your best assets on the playground. Consider these fun ideas to dress up or use the climber or play structure and expand your playground possibilities.

https://citywidetraining.ca/resources/climbers-arent-just-for-climbing-expand-your-playground-possibilities.html

With the arrival of the warm summer months it provides teachers with so many wonderful opportunities to incorporate the natural elements of the outdoors, into their program development. This resource provides some creative ways to engage pre-school and kingdergarten aged children in natural resources such as leaves, flat rocks and flowers. 

https://citywidetraining.ca/resources/take-your-classrooms-summer-outdoor-program-to-the-next-level.html

This article highlights 9 different books that promote exploration of the outdoor environments and provides brief descriptions of the 9 books listed.  

https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/children/2017/books-that-will-inspire-a-love-of-the-great-outdoors/