The Role of Outdoor Play in Preschool: Benefits and Ideas for Outdoor Learning

Outdoor play is an integral part of every child’s development. It is vital for the digital era we live in. It has numerous benefits. Children develop holistically through outdoor play, supporting their physical, mental and social well-being. By spending time outside, children earn invaluable experiences that help them develop on a holistic level. Besides the aspects we already mentioned stemming from outdoor play, children also develop their creativity and intelligence. Because of these reasons, many preschools embrace outdoor play and include it in their curriculum.

To start with the benefits of outdoor play, we will start with improved physical and mental health. Spending time outdoors helps children learn more about the world around them. It also helps them develop diverse skills. Children learn to communicate and connect with nature. As far as ideas for outdoor learning are concerned, we will mention a few (maths, science, arts and English) and give you some ideas on how to incorporate them into your curriculum.

Benefits of outdoor play in preschool

1. It improves physical health and stimulates development

The first and most apparent benefit of outdoor play is enhanced physical health and development. Studies have shown that spending time outside greatly benefits kids’ health and development. By going outside, children are more active and can learn about many things in fun ways. Besides improving their physical fitness, kids also enhance their motor skills. Other benefits include breathing fresh air and absorbing sunshine. Being healthily exposed to the sun gives our body the much-needed vitamin D, which helps with tiredness and headaches. It also aids coordination and balance. Additionally, being active burns all the extra energy and prevents illnesses in that way.

2. It helps children learn more about the world around them

Spending time outdoors also has additional benefits, such as helping children learn more about the world around them. By getting familiar with the world around them, kids can develop understanding and appreciation for that world. Venturing outside helps children experience the world. Nature is full of natural phenomena that kids can observe. They just need to spend enough time outside to notice various patterns and regularities. Kids are naturally curious, so they like exploring things on their own. When choosing a preschool for your kid(s), make sure that you choose an institution where they will be allowed to explore the outdoors and reap all the benefits of it. Insight Early Learning is one such institution that promotes outdoor learning and organises all kinds of trips.

3. Improves mental health

Another benefit of outdoor play is improved mental health. The time kids spend outside is highly beneficial for kids’ mental health. One of the reasons is that many kids boost their self-esteem by exploring things outside. Children grow their confidence by trying out something new and succeeding in doing it. This refers to all kinds of activities kids engage in outside, such as climbing, jumping, running, etc. Mere exploration helps with their self-esteem. Kids must develop their self-esteem at an early age as it will help them later on in life.

4. Children develop diverse skills

Besides the aspects we have mentioned, children also develop various other essential skills for life. One such skill is problem-solving. Children encounter various ‘problems’ and obstacles outdoors they need to solve. By overcoming them, they learn these crucial skills. Other skills kids learn include patience, resilience, confidence and independence. Outdoor play and learning offer many possibilities for children to adopt all these essential skills.

5. Children learn to communicate

Children also develop interpersonal skills, such as communication, by spending a certain amount of time outdoors. Being able to communicate effectively is crucial. Children can develop it and learn to utilize it in such settings. Outdoor learning also gives us plenty of opportunities for teamwork, where children learn to take turns, listen and respect others and their opinions and views. Children love learning and collaborating with others if you make it appealing. They are naturally curious, so you must know how to engage their interests. You can use many great and simple activities for this aim.

6. They connect with nature

The last benefit we will mention is establishing a connection with nature. When children spend some time daily playing and learning outside, they are bound to connect with nature. If they don’t spend much time outside, they can’t develop an understanding of nature and its processes and appreciation. So, trying to establish this vital connection at an early age is essential. Children learn about flowers, trees, plants, insects and animals. These things usually fascinate them, so use the opportunity to teach them these things through exposure to nature.

Ideas for outdoor learning

1. Maths

Regarding different ideas for learning outdoors, we will give you some ideas for various classes such as maths, science, arts, and English. We will start with maths. For instance, you can use natural things such as sticks and stones to learn to count. You can teach kids to group with various objects from nature as well. Additionally, you can practice telling the time by messing time in races. These are just some of the many activities you can use to teach maths-related things.

2. Science

When it comes to teaching science, you can also use many activities to teach kids about science. You can teach kids about plants and their classification. Also, you can teach the differences between solid things, gasses, and liquids with various objects. You can conduct various nature spotting exercises that include plants and insects, to name a few.

3. Arts

Art is also easily incorporated with painting, chalk, graffiti, and portraits. You can find many great and inspiring ideas on Pinterest.

4. English

For teaching language skills, such as English, you can engage in some role play. You can also write poems about nature. Moreover, there are various word association games you can try out – the sky is the limit!

As you can see, outdoor play is essential for kids’ development. Make sure that your kids reap its benefits by enrolling them in a quality preschool that promotes outdoor hands-on learning and play.

About The Author

Jess Cooper is a part-time journalist and blogger based in Sydney, Australia. She is an energetic, creative, highly motivated person with plenty of interests. The most prominent areas of interest include makeup and cosmetics, fashion, style, event organization and decoration, healthy food, fitness, learning languages as well as home improvement. Jess loves learning about new things and having the chance to combine those insights with her ideas and spread them to the world. She enjoys having a mindful and well-organized, healthy life, filled with all kinds of different activities and interwoven with close friendships.