Outdoor learning and why it’s important for children’s development
There are many different schools of thought when it comes to children’s development - medical, psychological, physical and educational. At The Key Clinic, our perspective is pretty simple - movement is key.
Sally Goddard Blythe, in her book “The Well Balanced Child”, shares the idea that ‘movement is a child’s very first language’. Why is this? As babies and children move around their environment, they are building connections in their brains that elicit the development of many skills needed for daily functioning throughout their lives. By running, skipping, jumping, swinging, sliding, spinning and moving their bodies in all the ways it was designed to move, children are stimulating their vestibular system (the balance mechanism) and developing their proprioceptive understanding (where their body is in space/body awareness). Ultimately, this leads to good posture control, improved fine and gross motor control and developed cognitive function.
And where is the most appropriate environment for children to do all those movements? Outside! Aside from supporting children’s development, being outdoors can also improve children’s self-confidence, self-esteem, independence, physical fitness and school-life balance (Source).
Outdoor learning is a great way of incorporating movement into a child’s experiences and growth, in a natural way.
The Institute of Outdoor Learning characterises outdoor learning as activities and experiences in an outdoor environment that aim to support children’s learning, health and well-being and environmental awareness.
Here are some ideas to help you incorporate outdoor learning into your child’s development:
A Sound Walk: take a walk through the park or local green space. Allow children to pick up sticks and see what sounds they can make by tapping different things in their environment. You can also ask them to listen carefully to the sounds of nature outside.
Nature Art: go on an adventure to find materials for an art piece - sticks, leaves, dirt - anything you like! When you come back, encourage the children to stick everything on a big piece of paper or card and get creative!
Storytelling outdoors: taking storytelling outdoors creates an extra dimension to it whilst stimulating imagination and curiosity. You can take it in turns to read, imagining how the characters would feel outside.
Gardening: give children the project of planting seeds and watching them grow!
(Source: Ltl.org)
Forest Schools take outdoor learning one step further. Originally from Denmark, Forest Schools were introduced in the UK in the 1990s. They are informal in comparison to traditional indoor classroom-based learning but rest assured, as children engage in sessions they are improving their focus, attention skills and communication skills, building self-regulation/esteem and independence and growing their understanding of risks while developing their balance, coordination and fine motor skills.
Getting outside and exploring everything nature has to offer is a great way to help your children develop motor skills, cognition and inter and interpersonal skills. So if there’s anything you take away from this blog post - get outside! Grab your coats, hats, gloves or sunscreen and get moving!
If you would like to speak to our team about how our game-changing therapies can support your child’s development, contact us today.