Outdoor schools have been spreading throughout the nation for the last few years including farm schools, outdoor preschools, and the mainstream version called Tinkergarten. Welcome to Wild Wednesdays at Leiloni’s Life Lessons. We held our first outdoor class last Wednesday, and it couldn’t have gone better. But, before I tell you more about my new class, let us dive deep into why being outdoors is important to all people, but especially young ones.
Hands on learning has shown to be the best type of learning for many students. Physical activity is also important for human development. Outdoor school is the combination of both. “Outdoor play helps children grow socially, helping them to develop healthy ways of forming friendships, responding to physical interaction, and using their imaginations to entertain each other,” says Dr. Lockwood. “It helps them solve problems, build relationships within their peer group and gain a respect for nature.” (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia). In our Outdoor school, all of this wrapped up with learning about nature, academics, and exploring the world around each one involved. Hands on learning, and outdoor play help to encourage planning, problem-solving, multitasking, and even risk taking. All of these mental advantages are boosted with physical advantages as well.
Playing outdoors is beneficial to our health. Sun exposure increases the levels of vitamin D. Exercise, and movement aid in muscle and bone growth. Activity such as this also helps to promote better sleep. According to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, children need about three hours of outdoor play every day. Other organizations are arising to help make this happen. There are outdoor programs like Tinkergarten that provide classes for younger children outdoors. A challenge called, “1000 Hour Outside” has a website and a way to track your children’s hours outdoors. Hiking, swimming, riding a bike or scooter, and unstructured play time all help to increase health and reduce obesity in many children.
What can you do to encourage your child outside? If you are local, you can check out my Outdoor school program that meets on Wednesdays for three hours a week. I put together a well though-out out plan that follows a weekly theme. Last week we learned “A is for apple.” For the youngest learner, that meant learning about how apple trees grow, and the sound of the letter. For the older learners we explored what solutions would work best to keep an apple from turning brown. I read them books, we painted with apples, and had hands on learning that ended with unstructured play. If you don’t have a program like this near your home, you can create time and space for your children to play. Even if you do enroll your children in a program, you may need to supplement with more time in the great outdoors. There is a lot of information on web, and groups in Meetup.com, and Facebook that can help you along the way. I have included some resources that may help as well.
Many families have very busy schedules, and three hours outside may seem like a lofty idea. If that is true, begin small. Add an hour of outside time for your children daily and grow from there. Every bit of outdoor time that you add is beneficial to your children’s health, mental advancement, and over all wellbeing.
Sources:
https://www.chop.edu/news/health-tip/benefits-outdoor-play-why-it-matters
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/6-reasons-children-need-to-play-outside-2018052213880
Additional Resource:
https://www.1000hoursoutside.com/