Mindful Materials: Creating Engaging Outdoor Environments for Young Learners
This episode of the Mindful Turtle Podcast originally aired September 8, 2024. To receive podcast updates and other nature-based early childhood education news, subscribe to Samara Early Learning’s weekly newsletter written by Dr. Rachel A. Larimore.
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This week’s episode focuses on the importance of ensuring that the outdoor play area in nature-based early childhood educational settings serves as an extension of the indoor classroom. Dr. Rachel Larimore, emphasizes the need for outdoor spaces to support holistic learning experiences, rather than just physical play.
Rachel invites listeners to reflect on your outdoor play area, and specifically, to what extent are the interest areas that are present inside in the indoor classroom available outside as well?
Other questions you can be asking related to this big step: to what extent are the interest areas that are inside available outside?
Do you have literacy available outside? Do you have books outside? Do you have paper and writing materials so they can write and can create stories?
What materials do you have available for math and math play?
What about science play?
What about art, blocks, sensory?
They don't have to look exactly the same, right? You might have wooden blocks inside, but outside maybe you have PVC pipes and straw bales and two by fours and big logs that they're building with. So walk through those different interest areas.
Another way to look at this is to look at the different kinds of play. Observe your outdoor natural play area and think about whether there is:
Large motor play?
Small motor play?
Mastery play?
Rules-based play?
Construction play?
Play with language?
Arts-based play?
All of this is to come back to: how is that outdoor play serving as an extension of the classroom specific to the materials? This week is simply about bringing your awareness to what currently exists.
If you’d like support in reflecting on your natural outdoor play area that truly serves as an extension of the classroom, check the Examining the Natural Play Area: An extension of the indoor classroom?
