Children gravitate to nature
Activists, such as Louv, point out that children’s access to nature has diminished greatly in the past 30 years. But if given the opportunity, children do seek outdoor experiences. Plenty of studies show children prefer to play in natural or wild spaces. Playing in a patch of dirt, climbing a tree, and exploring the woods behind a school used to be a rite of passage. A part of growing up. In fact, many adults recall natural or outdoor environments as the most significant places in their childhood (Sebba 1991).
Playing in nature has positive impacts on “children’s social play, concentration and motor ability” (Fjortoft and Sageie 2000, 84). As the school yard is concerned, natural environments have advantages over built playgrounds (e.g., climbing apparatus) because they tend to stimulates more diverse and creative play. When schools make a serious effort to integrate natural environments into their programs and physical space, academic performance improves across the curriculum (National Environmental Education and Training Foundation 2000).
Outdoor “early learning” classrooms
Educators and families in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany have known for decades that preschoolers who play and learn in naturalized landscapes experience real benefits in cognitive, social and physical development. As an educational model, the outdoor preschool and kindergarten first appeared in Denmark in the 1960s. From there, it spread to Scandinavia and Germany. Germany has about 500 forest kindergartens where all-weather learning, playing and socializing occur on forest lands.
Now a growing number of American educators and parents of young children are discovering the merits of the outdoor classroom.
More resources to help you get grounded
Children & Nature Network. Co-founded by Richard Louve, author of eight books including Last Child in the Woods and the Nature Principle. The nonprofit is dedicated to creating a world where every child can play, learn and grow in nature. See the research and publications tabs for abstracts, studies and reports documenting children’s access to nature and on the new nature movement.
Children, Youth, and Environments. A professional journal published by the University of Colorado. The online publication provides easy access to authoritative research articles, in-depth analyses, cutting-edge field reports, and critical book and film reviews on children, youth and the environments where they live, learn, work, play and discover the natural world.
The Natural LearningInitiative. Creates environments for healthy human development and a healthy biosphere for future generations. The Natural Learning Initiative (NLI) is a research and professional development unit at the College of Design, NC State University, Raleigh, NC, USA. NLI promotes the creation of naturalized school yards for children in a world where increasing numbers of children are losing contact with nature.
Natural Learning: The Life History of an Environmental Schoolyard. Robin Moore and Herb Wong document a 10-year journey that was the transformation of an ordinary asphalt schoolyard into a naturalized environment. It serves as a guidebook for teachers, designers, and parents on how to create, redevelop, and use naturalized schoolyards. Berkeley, California: MIG Communications, 1997.
Why Kids Need a Big Dose of Nature. This is an in-depth interview with Richard Louve. Published in U.S. News and World Report, 2008.
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