The goal of loose parts play is for children to learn to collaborate and communicate. We as adults & supervisors are NOT problem solvers. The children MUST learn to solve their own problems by talking to each other and making allowances for one another. You can help and coach them along if they are struggling … Read more
“As Dr. Mark Tremblay, the chief scientific officer of the ParticipACTION Report Card says, we have lost the balance between short-term safety and long-term health. In outdoor play, risk doesnt mean courting danger, but rather giving kids the freedom to assess their surroundings and make decisions, allowing them to build confidence, develop skills, solve problems … Read more
Cognoscenti contributor John Less argues his reasons for advocating why children need to play and explore outdoors. For children, the difference between observing creatures in a zoo or aquarium and catching a tadpole or a turtle in a pond is geometric. Feeling a live and wild animal wriggle in one’s palm is a different experience from … Read more
The Guardian author Kate Blinco hits the nail on the head with her article discussing the value of risky play for children and why parents need to back off and let their kids get bruised. Children need to be exposed to risky play. For ‘helicopter parents’, this might be difficult – but kids need to … Read more
Why Day Care Kids Don’t Play Outside Article originally published by the New York Times Outdoor play at day care centers is often stifled because a child arrives wearing flip-flops or without a coat or because teachers don’t feel like going outside. Those were some of the surprising findings from a new study of children’s … Read more
Children play best: When adults are watchful but not intrusive, when safe ground lends courage to their discoveries and adventures. When their trust in life is whole, when they welcome the unknown and are fearless. When the world is shared with them. When there are places and spaces they can make their own. When their … Read more