Are Children Visible in their Outdoor Playspaces?
We often ask those in our programs and classes to think back to when they were a child and reflect where they played the most. Many will say they played outdoors, for long periods of time, only going home once the street lights came on. They remember the smells, the sights and who they were playing with quite vividly. Margaret McMillan (1919) believed the greatest classroom for children was the outdoors. Froebel believed the outdoor learning environments offer children freedom to explore and discover, with wondrous opportunities to play. So, if we agree and believe this is true, how do we ensure that the children of today have the same opportunities to develop a relationship within their outdoor environments ensuring a long-lasting love of nature and the opportunity to experience environmental stewardship, learning to care for the natural world?
Let’s talk about playgrounds for a moment. Traditionally, we think of designated large open spaces and climbers, swings or merry-go-rounds. We have many great minds to thank for the creation of the playground, but the most prominent figure in their development was Friedrich Froebel. His conclusions about a holistic, physical and mental approach to health as an important helped lead to the development of the first playgrounds. I ask you to think about this though, what do playgrounds look like today? How do we identify outdoor playspaces for children? How are they learning to make a connection with the outdoors within their communities? And how do we ‘see’ the children in these spaces?
From a constructivist approach, early learning teachers serve as provocateurs and facilitators to support children in identifying interests and in experiencing rich and intriguing explorations and discoveries. Constructivism refers to knowledge that is acquired through active involvement with content and experimentation (Kashin, 2009). To “see” children in their environments, we have to understand the concept of play-based learning. Play-based learning has been described as an approach to teaching that involves playful, child-directed elements along with some degree of adult guidance (Pyle & Danniels, 2016). Early learning professionals are critical to the process and the outcome of play. Observing, being sensitively involved, and carefully guiding, extending and scaffolding play are all part of the play partner’s responsibility. “The early childhood curriculum builds on the child’s own experiences, knowledge, skills, attitudes, needs, interests and views of the world within each particular setting. Children will have the opportunity to create and act on their own ideas, to develop knowledge and skills in areas that interest them.” (Te Whariki: Early Childhood Curriculum, New Zealand Ministry of Education, 1996).
When we listen carefully to what the children are saying, we may hear a new interest emerge and then with this new information, additional props can be added to extend their learning. In the outdoors, some of these props should be items of nature. Sticks, leaves, earth, branches, plants, flowers, trees, grass, water, stones, rocks to name a few. We want early learning professionals to have as much material in their outdoor playscapes to accommodate the children’s current interests as they do in the indoor environments. When this is achieved, we begin to ‘see’ the children in their environments. They feel connected to the outdoor playscape in a way that supports maximum learning and development. We hear their laughter at a new discovery or watch the intensity on their face as they master a new skill. We watch the relationship between the children develop over shared interests because their interests are considered paramount in the outdoor spaces they inhabit.
They can explore, be messy, be as loud as they want, take risks, tinker, and connect with nature – hear the birds sing and the leaves rustle, see a spider web glistening with early morning dew, have time for stillness and connection, smell the clean freshness of the soil after a spring rain.
We can also ‘see’ the children through pedagogical documentation. By observing and interpreting what children do and why they do it we begin to see the connection between thinking and questioning. This shows or makes visible the way children are making meaning of their learning or of their interaction with the world. The document Learning and Caring with Infants and Toddlers, Government of New Brunswick, 2005, says the pleasure and joy of feeling the warm sun or seeing the first flurry of snow creates memories for all of us. Children love to share these moments with the adults in their lives. Some ways to collect documentations are photos and video recordings of children, observations and stories of children’s learning, samples or artifacts of projects, investigations and representations, contributions from families, and individual and collaborative works. When we give our children the opportunity to connect with the natural world, we are gifting them with the opportunity to be attached to those spaces and continue to build relationships both in them and within them.
References:
Dietze, B., & Kashin, D. (2019). Outdoor and nature play in early childhood education. Pearson Canada Incorporated.
Council of Ministers of Education, Canada. CMEC Statement on Play-Based Learning https://www.cmec.ca/en/
Dietze, B., & Kashin, D. (2012). Playing and Learning in Early Childhood Education. Pearson Canada Incorporated.
Martin, S., & Huggins, L. (2015). YMCA Playing to Learn, A YMCA Guide to quality care and education of young children. Published by the YMCA of Greater Toronto.
Pictures sourced at: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/262756959479549964/?autologin=true
