Nature Play Week

You will notice that children spend as much time in the outdoor environment at our services as possible. At River Region Early Education our educational philosophy states “Our approach to teaching is collaborative, reflective, and intentional. It puts children at the centre of learning and celebrates play and the natural environment, in all weather, to support children to be curious, collaborate and be adventurous.”.

Nature play is where children engage in unstructured play outdoors using the natural elements that exist there e.g. logs, trees, leaves, sticks and stones, rather than man-made resources.

Children lead their own play, choose how they want to play and what they want to play with. It’s full of imagination, curiosity, and creativity.

Outdoor play and nature play both occur outside, the difference is that outdoor play can incorporate play equipment and man-made play toys and objects.

Why is nature play good for your child?

The Benefits of Nature Play by Celia Hogan | Mar 4, 2022 Little Kiwis Nature Play

Physical activity

When children have regular time in the outdoors, including forests, parks, and playgrounds, they have opportunities to release stress, play vigorously, and directly explore nature, which in turn provides physical and psychological benefits.

For children, greenspaces are an important environmental influence on physical activity and emotional wellbeing

Social emotional skills

An Australian study found that the kids who spent the most time outdoors were, on average, more cooperative. They were also more socially expressive – better able to verbalise their desires and enter into play with others. By contrast, time spent playing video games was unrelated to social skills.

In a recent study of preschoolers, researchers found that nature-connected kids were better behaved. They were less likely to suffer from emotional difficulties, and more likely to show kindness toward others.

Improves social relations. Children will be smarter, better able to get along with others, healthier and happier when they have regular opportunities for free and unstructured play in the outdoors.

Sensory rich experiences

In play experiences, combining the sense of touch with the senses of vision, hearing, taste and smell helps build cognitive skills.

Children become more creative simply by playing. They also build their linguistic, cognitive, visual spatial, social and emotional skills.

Mental health and overall wellbeing

Evidence suggests that not only are people dependent on the natural environment for material needs such as food and water, but also that the natural environment is equally essential for fulfilling psychological, spiritual, and emotional needs. Therefore, it seems crucial that mental health promotion should acknowledge the importance of ensuring access to natural environments and protecting these areas for our wellbeing.

In nature there is a great advantage of germs for your child’s developing immune system. Microbial exposure and increased microbial burden is beneficial for wellness.

Reduced stress. Green plants and vistas reduce stress among highly stressed children. Locations with a greater number of plants, greener views, and access to natural play areas show more significant results.

Nature supports multiple development domains. Nature is important to children’s development in every major way—intellectually, emotionally, socially, spiritually, and physically.

Risk management skills

The opportunity for risk taking improves children’s competencies in risk management and risk perception. In addition, social skills may be enhanced through opportunities for collaboration with older peers, as children collectively decide and learn how to manage risk.18

Risky play helps children to learn to manage their own safety and move around comfortably.

Engagement in risky play was positively associated with children’s well-being, involvement and physical activity. The findings in this study suggest that one way to support children’s everyday experiences and positive outcomes for children in ECEC is to provide children with opportunities for risky play. Restrictions on children’s play behaviours following safety concerns must be balanced against the joy and possible future benefits of thrilling play experiences for children.

Improved academic performance including oral language, communication, decision making and negotiation skills

Access to play improves classroom behaviour and academic and enhances children’s readiness to learn, their learning behaviours and their ability to problem solve.

Loose parts play research has linked physical activity not only to physical health but also to mental well-being and academic achievement

Environment, culture, and nature connection

Creating a play experience outside on a regular basis will not only educate our children about where their curiosity may take them, it also feeds a deeper connection to our natural environment. Instilling these connections in this new generation is of most importance to our kaitiakitanga and environmental sustainability.

Wilson (2012) outlines how the early childhood years are fundamental in developing “environmental attitudes and a commitment to caring for the Earth” (p. 87). The natural world can give children instant responses to their curiosity through all their senses as they touch, taste, smell, see and hear what is going on around them. Such connections tend to foster an ethic of care for the natural environment and the life systems within it. Positive experiences in nature can support children to develop the understanding that humans are interconnected with the earth and its life supporting systems, and that all humans have a responsibility to ensure its survival for future generations.

Time in nature is not leisure time; it’s an essential investment in our children’s health. Today, kids are aware of the global threats to the environment, but their physical contact, their intimacy with nature, is fading.

Research has shown that empathy with and love of nature grows out of children’s regular contact with the natural world. Hands-on, informal, self-initiated exploration and discovery in local, familiar environments are often described as the best ways to engage and inspire children and cultivate a sense of wonder. These frequent, unstructured experiences in nature are the most common influence on the development of lifelong conservation values.

People who report positive experiences with nature are more likely to behave in ways that protect the environment, and we can see the effect in children as well as adults – kids who spend more time in nature express more appreciation for wildlife, and more support for conservation.

Creativity and problem solving

Nature supports creativity and problem solving. Studies of children in schoolyards found that children engage in more creative forms of play in the green areas. They also play more cooperatively in the natural environment. Play in nature is especially important for developing capacities for creativity, problem solving and intellectual development.

Play actually changes the structure of the developing brain in important ways, strengthening the connections of the neurons (nerve cells) in the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain considered to be the executive control centre responsible for solving problems and making plans and regulating emotions.

“Schemas link directly to how the young brain develops and grows. They are a vitally important element in young children’s learning and development. Children need opportunities to practice repeatedly what they know and can do, so what is known becomes better known.”

Loose parts facilitate communication and negotiation skills when added to an outdoor space. Benefits of playing with loose parts include increasing levels of creative and imaginative play, children play co-operatively and socialise more, and children are physically more active.